Hedgehogs defend themselves with quills, but they're defenceless against cars. This year, at my parents' house in Mühlviertel we had an hedgehog nursing ten little ones (which is quite a lot, six would be more usual).
You may already have guessed that she was killed by a car. This happened weeks ago when the litter was still blind and much too young to survive on its own. With some advice from a vet my mother and my sister fed them up - and to our big surprise, all ten of them made it.
They're all fat and well now and most likely will survive the hibernation.
This is my sister holding one of the hedgehogs:
Usually, hedgehogs are shy and nocturnal; nocturnal they're still, but shy they're no longer. Seems likely they'll keep visiting my parents' house when they've grown up.
