Morbidity and Prognostic Factors Associated with Wild Hedgehogs Admitted to a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Catalonia (NE Spain) from 1995 to 2020

Simple Summary Wildlife rehabilitation centers are essential hubs for hedgehog conservation. In the present study, we describe the causes of mortality and morbidity of two species of wild hedgehogs, the West European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) and the North African hedgehog (Atelerix algirus), over 26 years in Catalonia, Spain. There has been an absolute increase in admissions to the WRC, especially in the categories of orphaned/young and misplacement. Animals that presented with neurological and general clinical signs, such as low body condition, presented a higher risk of unassisted mortality. In addition, macroscopic respiratory and digestive lesions were observed in 54.9% and 43.9% of the necropsied animals, respectively, and were related to the death of the animal. Morbidity and prognostic factors in wildlife rehabilitation are essential for providing effective care, making informed decisions, optimizing resources, and improving rehabilitation success rates.Abstract Wildlife rehabilitation centers (WRC) play a crucial role in the collection of data and the monitoring of hedgehog populations. The main objective of this study was to identify the morbidity and prognostic factors associated with the mortality of wild hedgehogs admitted at a WRC in Catalonia. A total number of 3397 hedgehogs admitted from 1995 to 2020 were studied. The principal cause of admission was orphaned/young category (41%) followed by misplacement (19%), natural disease (17%), and trauma (14%). The best outcomes for release were for misplacement (93.6%), orphaned/young (72.3%), and other causes (77.6%), and the lowest proportion of released animals were found for natural disease (41.4%) and trauma (44.7%) categories. The most common macroscopic findings were the respiratory and digestive lesions. Internal parasites were also prevalent in 61% of the animals but with no association with a higher mortality. In the multivariate analyses, the prognostic indicators related with the mortality outcome were the presence of systemic (OR = 3.6, CI 95%: 2.8-4.6) and neurological (OR = 4.3, CI 95%: 2.9-6.4) signs. Morbidity and prognostic factors in wildlife rehabilitation are essential for providing effective care, making informed decisions, optimizing resources, and improving rehabilitation success rates.