About
Hedgehogs were long-cited as a suburban success story, but recent research points to an alarming decline in the UK’s hedgehogs. Hedgehogs’ ancestors roamed the earth before mammoths and sabre toothed tigers, and they have changed little over the last 15 million years. It is the UK's only spiny mammal and they are named after their pig-like habit of rooting through the undergrowth for food.
Alarming declineHedgehogs have been included in the
UK Biodiversity Action Plan, as a result of evidence of significant decline. Winter starvation forms the single greatest threat to a hedgehog’s survival, with three quarters of the population dying before they are one year old. The loss of permanent pasture to arable farming in the countryside has reduced the number of grassland invertebrates on which hedgehogs feed. This has been accompanied by a loss of cover with the removal of hedgerows. A variety of garden and agricultural pesticides enter their food chain, inflicting untold damage, as their food source is made mainly of "pest" species.
How to spot
The hedgehog is about 20 to 30 cm in length. Adult weight typically ranges from 0.6kg (after hibernation) to up to 1.2kg (prior to hibernation). Males tend to be slightly longer and heavier than females. If alarmed, a hedgehog will roll itself into a ball, protecting itself against potential predators with its spines. They are quite noisy so listen out and you may hear them snuffling and grunting during their activities!
Potential predators
They have few natural enemies, although they do provide an occasional welcome meal for determined badgers and foxes. The cushioning effect of these spines has also reduced their wariness of steep edges, hence their unfortunate habit of falling into garden ponds or cattle grids. Litter can also be a lethal trap for hedgehogs. They cover about two miles per night foraging for food - detecting prey up to 3cm deep under the soil. They feed on at least 100 invertebrates per night. When hibernating a hedgehog’s heartbeat falls from 190 to about 20 beats per minute.
Where and when to see
In your garden! The European Hedgehog lives in woodland, farmland and suburban areas. It is nocturnal so keep a look out at night time.
Fascinating fact
Adults may have up to 5000 spines
What can you do to help?
There are a number of ways that you can encourage hedgehogs to your garden, the most important being to have wild plants that attract their invertebrate food source. Leaving leaf piles in the autumn near undisturbed areas of shrubbery allows them to easily build winter nests. In addition a saucer of pet food with a few crushed dog biscuits provides an enticing, but balanced diet. Complemented by a bowl of drinking water this will answer all your hedgehogs’ needs.