Just found five bodies in my garden

[TibetanTerra]

NC but regular poster. I just went out to the garden and saw something on the lawn that looked a bit like a hedgehog. At first I thought it was a ball of dead grass, but then saw it covered in bluebottles. Looked closer and it's definitely a dead hedgehog

Thought it was weird, but as I glanced further down the lawn I saw THREE more, perfectly still, and covered in flies.

I assume(d) that possibly it was a little family that had been poisoned, as it looks like they've just dropped dead on their walk across the lawn. But then I found a dead rat, ripped in half with entrails everywhere but the top half intact and it's clearly a youngish rat, not a mouse. The hedgehogs don't look injured, no blood or wounds.

Also found two halves of an eggshell (like stolen from a nest, not the supermarket!) in two completely opposite ends of the garden.

What the actual fuck. What's killed all the wildlife!? I have a cat but she's not really a hunter, ignores hedgehogs and if she did manage a rat she'd just leave it intact and not shred it to bits.

I do have pics but didn't want to upset people, but I can post them.

Any ideas what has been on a murderous rampage in my garden? Nothing like this has ever happened before.

Fox? They kill for sport don't they?

Poor hogs :(

I was having a good day before I read your post

Badger?

I reckon I'd contact a hedgehog charity about that, just in case it is a poisoning. Doesn't sound like a fox to me

Poor hogs, a hedgehog loving friend told me badgers kill hedgehogs, don’t know if they’d go for rats too?

I think badgers are the only animals which are capable of killing hedgehogs.

Fear to be fair, what were you expecting? I'm sorry OP how horrid for you. Poor beasties

How horrible. Could it be poison and birds have started devouring the rat?

I did think fox, but there aren't any visible injuries on the hedgehogs though? And could it catch and kill them all before the others escaped?

Really sorry @Fearicecream, it's made me sad too

Maybe you have a neighbour who has put down rat poison. Can you ask around? Double bag the corpses and dispose of them in your general waste. If they are poisoned, they are dangerous to cats and carrion eating birds.

Aw thats so sad, no idea what the culprit could be though, certainly not re the hedgehogs due to all those spikes. Could you get an outdoor wildlife camera? To see what visits your garden

Mink is my bet. Got all our ducks once. Foxes will just take one bird but mink will kill everything that moves and then take what they want. Evil buggers.

Google mink and chickens for evidence. Not pictures though :(

@Scoobidoo

How horrible. Could it be poison and birds have started devouring the rat?

Ew, that seems possible. Poison put down for the rat by a neighbour and the poor hedgehogs were collateral damage.

I've honestly never known there to be badgers round here. Seen the occasional fox. Did see a rat a few weeks ago but the house pretty much backs onto fields so didn't worry too much.

I'd try and find out if it was poison too, whoever is putting it down could end up killing people's pets, or children could end up touch it too

It can’t be a fox if the poor hogs are all intact, for want of a better word.
I’d be asking neighbours if anyone has put down poison.
How unpleasant

@growinggreyer

Maybe you have a neighbour who has put down rat poison. Can you ask around? Double bag the corpses and dispose of them in your general waste. If they are poisoned, they are dangerous to cats and carrion eating birds.

Oh Christ, didn't even think of that. Last thing I need is the cat poisoning herself on a corpse, or more bodies in the garden!

Slug pellets kill hedgehogs (they eat the poisoned slugs). Don't know about the rat though. What a shame about the hedgehogs though. We used to see lots round here, but not for years now.

Badgers eat hedgehogs. Doesn't a killing spree sound more like a stoat or weasel or something like that?

Sounds like badgers.

Badgers do killing sprees too, but they wouldn’t leave unmarked bodies.

I imagine the rat was poisoned and the hedgehogs ate it in your garden.

Horrible, OP, what an unpleasant thing to happen, and to find

Badgers do occasionally kill hedgehogs but it's far more likely that they have been poisoned. You would see injuries if it had been badgers.

My dog (terrier breed) was an ace ratter and rabbiter in her youth.
She would get a rabbit most days and at one time was leaving 2-3 rats a week on our lawn.

During the time of Peak Rat, she also killed a hedgehog. I was really upset but also very surprised. Apparently, terriers flip them over, so they can go for the "soft underbelly" and don't get hurt by the spines.

Is there any chance that a terrier is getting in your garden, OP?

And yes, if it's poison that's done for them, the bodies can be toxic to other animals. My previous terrier nearly died from Warfarin poisoning, and he can only have got it from a corpse.

Horrible thing to find.

Rats can do this.
Badgers are pretty much the only thing that can penetrate a hedgehog ball. But they would leave a toupee of just spines.

You probably don't want to get too close, but I am sure there is a thing, where hedgehog get eaten by maggots while they are still alive, its often fatal unless you get to them quickly and the rat is just a coincidence