TY - JOUR

T1 - Facing Danger

T2 - Exploring Personality and Reactions of European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) towards Robotic Lawn Mowers

AU - Rasmussen, Sophie Lund

AU - Schrøder, Bettina Thuland

AU - Berger, Anne

AU - Macdonald, David W.

AU - Pertoldi, Cino

AU - Briefer, Elodie Floriane

AU - Alstrup, Aage Kristian Olsen

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - The populations of European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) are in decline, and it is essential that research identifies and mitigates the factors causing this. Hedgehogs are increasingly sharing habitats with humans, being exposed to a range of dangers in our backyards. Previous research has documented that some models of robotic lawn mowers can cause harm to hedgehogs. This study explored the personality and behaviour of 50 live hedgehogs when facing an approaching, disarmed robotic lawn mower. By combining a novel arena and novel object test, we found that 27 hedgehogs could be categorised as “shy” and 23 as “bold”, independently of sex and age. The encounter tests with a robotic lawn mower showed that the hedgehogs positioned themselves in seven different ways. Personality did not affect their reactions. Adult hedgehogs tended to react in a shyer manner, and the hedgehogs, generally, acted less boldly during their second encounter with the robotic lawn mower. Additionally, our results show that bold individuals reacted in a more unpredictable way, being more behaviourally unstable compared to the shy individuals. This knowledge will be applied in the design of a standardised hedgehog safety test, eventually serving to produce and approve hedgehog-friendly robotic lawn mowers.

AB - The populations of European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) are in decline, and it is essential that research identifies and mitigates the factors causing this. Hedgehogs are increasingly sharing habitats with humans, being exposed to a range of dangers in our backyards. Previous research has documented that some models of robotic lawn mowers can cause harm to hedgehogs. This study explored the personality and behaviour of 50 live hedgehogs when facing an approaching, disarmed robotic lawn mower. By combining a novel arena and novel object test, we found that 27 hedgehogs could be categorised as “shy” and 23 as “bold”, independently of sex and age. The encounter tests with a robotic lawn mower showed that the hedgehogs positioned themselves in seven different ways. Personality did not affect their reactions. Adult hedgehogs tended to react in a shyer manner, and the hedgehogs, generally, acted less boldly during their second encounter with the robotic lawn mower. Additionally, our results show that bold individuals reacted in a more unpredictable way, being more behaviourally unstable compared to the shy individuals. This knowledge will be applied in the design of a standardised hedgehog safety test, eventually serving to produce and approve hedgehog-friendly robotic lawn mowers.

KW - animal personality

KW - anthropogenic disturbance

KW - applied animal behaviour research

KW - behavioural instability

KW - Erinaceus europaeus

KW - garden technology

KW - lawn care

KW - robotic lawn mowers

KW - shyness–boldness

KW - wildlife conservation

U2 - 10.3390/ani14010002

DO - 10.3390/ani14010002

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38200733

AN - SCOPUS:85181848205

VL - 14

JO - Animals

JF - Animals

SN - 2076-2615

IS - 1

M1 - 2

ER -