Hedgehog Awareness Week
Tomorrow marks the final day of Hedgehog Awareness Week, which ran from 1-7 May this year. The annual event is run by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. It aims to improve our understanding of hedgehogs, and highlight of actions we can take to help them.
Hedgehogs
Hedgehogs evolved around 15 million years ago, living within the same era as sabre toothed tigers. Today, there are 17 species of hedgehog, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. They also live in New Zealand, having been introduced from England.
Across their territories, hedgehogs are common. In New Zealand, they are seen as a nuisance and a threat to indigenous species. The International Red List of Threatened Species lists hedgehogs as being ‘of Least Concern’. However, their status in the UK is less positive. Here, they have been in decline for a number of years. Estimates suggest that over half the hedgehogs in the countryside have been lost since the millennium. A third have been lost from towns and cities over the same period.
Declining Numbers
Reasons for the declining numbers include roads; over 167,000 hedgehogs are killed on roads annually. Loss of hedgerows and other habitat, and increase in intensive farming practices have also contributed. But it is not enough to take these factors in isolation.
Britain is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. Estimates suggest that the UK has around 50% of its biodiversity left, compared with the global average of 75%. This puts the UK in the bottom 10% of countries. The government routinely signs up to biodiversity targets, such as those agreed at the Conference of the Parties 10 (COP10) in Japan in 2010. Of these, the UK failed 17 out of 20 by the target date of 2020. The current aim is to halt biodiversity decline by 2030.
Which brings us back to the hedgehog, and the reasons for its decline. They cannot be put down to single factors, but are instead a part of the overall UK depletion of nature. Increases in agriculture, and use of chemicals has devastated numbers of insects and invertebrates, which provide most of a hedgehog’s food. The human impact on the circle of natural life is a strong contributory factor in the loss of hedgehogs from the UK.
How To Help Hedgehogs
This year’s State Of Britain’s Hedgehog report shows one positive. Hedgehog numbers in urban areas seem to be stabilising, or even increasing. However, these numbers are built on a low baseline. It does mean though that people living in urban, or suburban areas, might have more opportunities to help our hedgehogs.
Leaving food and water out is good starting point. Meat based cat or dog food, cat or dog biscuits (crushed or soaked), and speciality hedgehog food are the best options. Fish based cat food won’t harm hedgehogs, but they are often less keen on the flavour.
Bread and milk is not suitable for hedgehogs; bread lacks the nutrition of other foods, and hedgehogs are lactose intolerant. Milk can make them seriously ill. A shallow dish of water is all the liquid refreshment they need.
Leave gardens to nature to help provide other food sources for hedgehogs. As we’re now into No Mow May, perhaps it’s a good time to consider how to encourage nature into garden spaces.
Create access points into gardens, and between adjoining gardens to help develop hedgehog routes. And installing a hedgehog house in an outdoor space might encourage hedgehogs to stay a while, perhaps even for hibernation.
For more ideas, have a look at Hedgehog Street, where you can sign up to be a Hedgehog Champion. No special skills are needed, beyond a love of hedgehogs and a desire to support their survival. Finally, if you’re concerned about a hedgehog’s welfare, the British Hedgehog Preservation Society has details of how to help.
Lovely Emma! I was ecstatic a few weeks ago when I found hedgehog poo in our garden… it’s amazing what a few small, simple actions can do. Leaving our garden gate open at night, a few piles of logs and twigs dotted around and a small pond made out of a planter with some stepping stones to help wildlife reach the water (no-dig pond method… highly recommend!). The next job is some hedgehog highways in our fencing!
Thank you for reading, and taking time to comment! It’s such a wonderful feeling to welcome wildlife into our garden spaces. You’re right about the logs and twigs. They’re great for exploring, and foraging. We have a wild area in the garden with a small pond. Stepping stones up to it, and enough chunks of wood placed within the pond for things to climb out if they happen to slip in. Hopefully never needed, but just in case …!