Noisy hedgehog sex ‘carousel’ keeps neighbors up at night

It’s a story of the birds and the bees — and a few horny hedgehogs.

German first responders recently fielded complaints of a late-night noise disturbance near a primary school in Augsburg. When officers arrived at the scene, they and a school groundskeeper went on a hunt for the hooligans who had also tripped the security sensors.

What they discovered was not loud music or revelers keeping neighbors awake — but a passionate pair of hedgehogs in heat.

“The suspicious noises were soon pinned on a hedgehog couple in the midst of a mating ritual,” a school superintendent wrote in a report, referring to the culprits as the “prickly intruders.”

Apparently, this incident is not uncommon for German authorities. Hedgehog mating, called “igelsex,” is known to produce a cacophony of noises, from purring to snarling, to whistling and even scream-like sounds, which have many times been mistaken for distressed humans in the past.

“Hedgehogs snarl loudly during the hourslong mating ritual, and the males make the most noise,” an unnamed hedgehog expert from the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich tells The Guardian.

To the untrained ear, he says, they can sound just like people.

In Germany, hedgehog mating is referred to as Igelkarussell, or the hedgehog carousel, and peaks during warmer months, between April and September. Courting rituals cause a racket, too, as many male hedgehogs are competing for a female’s affection.

Experts urge officials not to disturb the frisky creatures as their urban population is under threat.

Watch as iconic wildlife broadcaster David Attenborough bemusedly observes two prickly pals as they create a future generation of hoglets. (Yes, that’s a baby hedgehog!)