The decline of the hedgehog.
I am only too aware that when curled a hedgehog becomes an impenetrable ball. You would think that they are safe from predators and predicaments, but alas that is not the case.
It is forecast that we will lose many of our favourite mammals within the next decade. The idea of this really saddens me as hedgehogs we know for certain were firmly established in Britain by the middle Pleistocene period about 2 million years ago.
Hedgehogs do have a few natural predators . Foxes, badgers, stoats, mink and even rats are said to take some hedgehogs but by far the greatest risk to hedgehogs is man.
Here is a list of some of the things that are a danger to hedgehogs
- Litter
- Fencing
- Ponds
- Pesticides and poisons (lack of insects).
- Intensive farming
- Lack of habitat
- Machinery/tools/strimmers
- Domestic dogs
- Uncovered drains
- Pot holes
- Motor vehicles
- Ignorance
- Cruelty.
The fragmentation of hedgehogs is a huge factor. Hedgehogs travel up to 2 or more miles a night in their efforts to find enough food but increasingly they are stuck in or out of gardens, Just a small (CD sized hole) in a fence would solve this problem. I am also extremely sad to report that they are still used as footballs in parks and playgrounds and rarely survive such a terrible ordeal!
So the major threat to this wonderful species is man and all the things listed are so easy to obliterate or rectify....by man!
Hedgehogs are experts at getting into trouble. If they can get stuck in it or fall into or over it, it they will. If you want to help them, think outside the box. Look at everything inside out and upside down. And just remember, even when your garden is completely hazard free and there is no possible way a hedgehog can get into trouble, they'll invent a new way.
Rescue, rehabilitate, release.
Gill Dixon runs Pricklington Palace Hedgehog rescue here in Howden. Purely voluntarily and single handily. Please visit www.facebook.com/pricklingtonpalace/ to support her work. Donations via www.paypal.me/Dixon1829
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