Juvenile European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) at rescue centers and their release rate depending on their weight on admission

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F62157124%3A16270%2F21%3A43879445" target="_blank" >RIV/62157124:16270/21:43879445 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0258273" target="_blank" >https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0258273</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0258273" target="_blank" >10.1371/journal.pone.0258273</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Juvenile European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) at rescue centers and their release rate depending on their weight on admission

Original language description

This study aimed to assess the numbers of juvenile European hedgehogs admitted to rescue centers in the Czech Republic from the viewpoint of their weight on admission, the reason for their admission, and the success rate of their release back into the wild. The results of our study show varying levels of success in the rearing of hedgehogs admitted at different ages (weights) and a varying period required for their rehabilitation. The greatest chance of release was seen in hedgehogs with a weight on the admission of 500-599 g (64.22% released) and 400-499 g (63.31% released). In contrast, the smallest number of young hedgehogs successfully rehabilitated and released was seen in hoglets weighing 200-299 g (35.24% released) on admission, which corresponds to the weight of hedgehogs at the time of weaning. Time spent at a rescue center may pose an undesirable threat to the lives of animals in some categories. Hedgehogs weighing up to 99 g on admission spent the longest period time at rescue centers (a median of 48 days), while hedgehogs weighing 500?599 g on admission spent the shortest time (a median of 7 days). The majority of hedgehogs in the lowest weight categories were admitted due to their inability to survive on their own. A large percentage of hedgehogs of greater weight, in contrast, were juvenile hedgehogs brought to rescue centers needlessly. The percentage of released animals did not exceed 65%, however, even for entirely independent categories of older juveniles. From this perspective, the fact that hedgehogs are often brought to rescue centers in the belief that they are not self-sufficient young, though they are actually juvenile or even adult individuals that do not require human care, can be considered a significant finding.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

40301 - Veterinary science

Project

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Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2021

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

PLoS ONE

ISSN

1932-6203

e-ISSN

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Volume of the periodical

16

Issue of the periodical within the volume

10

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

12

Pages from-to

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UT code for WoS article

000752443000056

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85116713812