Hedgehog with a tail

A few days ago I went out to feed the birds at the back of the garden when I saw a black ball as I got nearer i was amazed to see it was an hedgehog i thought that they hibernate in winter and not seen till spring
.What was strange as well it had a tail like a rat's tail and when I touched it .it didn't curl up in a a ball.at first I thought it was froze but it slowly was moving so I put some food by it went in to feed t the cat few mins later i went out and it was gone and the food so it must have been ok although I never seen it since
I never knew hedgehogs have tails you learn something new every day lol

 

Amazing thanks jiffy

 

Hedgehogs - Facts, Information & Pictures

 

So informative thanks

 

What on earth was that hedgehog trying to do?I've seen them contort themselves into all kinds of positions but not like that.

 

Scratching, marking or just having fun, i dunno as i only caught it on cctv so your guest is as good as mine

 

It looks like it's about to self annoint perhaps, something hogs do quite a lot.

The purpose of a hedgehog tail is subject to a certain amount of debate. It's more of a residual tail rather than a practical tail and doesn't seem to be of much benefit to the hedgehog. I've never thought of them as being like rat tails . Hedgehog tails feel softer than adult rat tails

 

It looks like it's about to self annoint perhaps, something hogs do quite a lot.

The purpose of a hedgehog tail is subject to a certain amount of debate. It's more of a residual tail rather than a practical tail and doesn't seem to be of much benefit to the hedgehog. I've never thought of them as being like rat tails. . Hog tails are softer than than adult rat tails.