RED LIST FOR HEDGEHOGS

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN[1]) has now formally added the hedgehog to the “near threatened” category. We have known hedgehogs have been in decline for several years and the latest data indicate a fall in numbers of at least 30% across much of their European range over the last decade. The expansion of urban development is a major threat generally as habitat is lost and access to greenspaces blocked. We have all seen hedgehogs killed on the roads and this is a major concern because they tend to roll into a ball rather than run which is no help at all against tyres. County roads are especially dangerous for them, particularly at night when they travel long distances in search of food. Please, please take care, especially when driving in rural or peri-urban  areas and look out for hedgehogs and other animals – badgers, deer, birds and others are all being killed on our roads in their thousands.

As well as development of our green spaces, pesticides (especially slug bait) can kill hedgehogs directly or by eliminating their natural food. Hedgehogs are omnivorous and, as well as invertebrates such as slugs, snails, worms and insects, they will eat fungi, roots, berries and pretty much anything going. We ask gardeners to avoid toxic chemical pesticides and other poisons in the garden, and to ensure fences have hedgehog gates or access gaps where these mammals can pass. They will consume many garden pests, so welcome them in. Another thing you can do is provide shelter and hibernation habitat – log piles or bespoke “hedgehog houses” that can be purchased from natural history equipment suppliers. And please do take care not to have a bonfire of an old rubbish pile where hedgehogs might be hiding!

An interesting fact is that the hedgehog’s spines are actually hollow hairs stiffened by keratin. Indeed, like hairs, they can be erected, and the animals do this when they roll into a ball as defence when threatened. Perhaps surprisingly, hedgehogs can be stroked when they are tame and feel secure, and obviously the spines are soft at birth! I know because I have reared a family of them when their mother was killed by a car.

Betts Ecology are very aware of the need to protect hedgehogs. We always leave gaps in fences and strive to provide habitat for them.

 © Betts Ecology

[1] See https://iucn.org/