Gills logs and blogs.

Hog blog 18
Tales from the Palace.

The news is full of the doom and gloom of our destruction of habitat and the loss of so many beautiful species and as populations increase we will inevitably  experience increased conflict between ourselves and the creatures that share our land.

I have been watching the new development in Howden and wonder how many hedgehogs (and other wild creatures) have been displaced as the land is excavated for the building work. The development is on what was such beautiful and undisturbed land.
Unlike most mammals hedgehogs do not have a fight or flight reflex. When faced with danger they simply curl into a tight ball, and so many will have perished, at the time when they should be raising families. Much as I understand that housing is necessary it makes me sad that there is no opportunity or requirement for builders to consider the needs of this important and helpful little mammal.

Did you know that hedgehogs are currently being lost from the parks and gardens of Britain at a rate of around 5% per year. That’s the same rate as tigers are being lost globally. They are listed as a priority species and some wildlife organisations have them categorised as critically endangered and yet they are afforded very little protection in reality.

It would seem to me that our only indigenous spiky mammal, which we know for certain were firmly established in Britain by the middle Pleistocene period about 2 million years ago have earned their place on our shores, and yet we are rapidly forcing them towards extinction.

I am not a hedgehog nutter, I love all wildlife and care deeply about our countryside and its biodiversity. However I can and do rehabilitate hedgehogs, and feel lucky to be able to do that, but I am asking you, the people of Howden to please make our town hedgehog friendly. Create those hedgehog highways that these mammals so desperately need to source adequate food, leave out a shallow bowl of water and some cat biscuits and share your intentions with your neighbours. You can find out more information here about becoming a hedgehog champion https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/

How sad it will be when we will only see hedgehogs in books and the tales of Beatrix Potter. Only we can stop that happening.

Rescue, rehabilitate, release.

Gill Dixon runs Pricklingon Palace Hedgehog rescue here in Howden. Purely voluntarily and single handedly. Please visit  www.facebook.com/pricklingtonpalace/ to support her work . Donations via www.paypal.me/Dixon1829