Hedgehogs now a rare garden sight as British populations continue to decline

More than half of people surveyed had never seen a hedgehog, once common in UK gardens

Damian Carrington

Monday 6 February 2017 06.01 GMT Last modified on Monday 6 February 2017 10.31 GMT 

The plight of the hedgehog in Britain appears to be worsening, with a new survey revealing a further decline in garden sightings.

The spiky creature was once a common sight, with the population estimated at 30 million in the 1950s. But that has plummeted to fewer than one million today, with a third of this loss thought to have taken place in the past decade. 

The latest survey, conducted with more than 2,600 people by BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, found that 51% of people did not see a hedgehog at all in 2016, up from 48% in 2015. Just 12% saw a hedgehog regularly.

The poll’s result is in line with an in-depth analysis in 2015 by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species which found urban populations of hedgehogs had fallen by up to a third since 2000 and rural populations had declined by at least a half. Results from a citizen science survey run by the RSPB in June 2016 also revealed a falling number of sightings.

The decline is not entirely understood but the main factors are thought to be the loss of their habitat in Britain’s towns and countryside – where farming has intensified – as well as road deaths. The fragmentation of habitat is also a problem as hedgehogs roam up to a mile every night to look for food and mates. A possible rise in badger numbers, which can eat hedgehogs, has also been suggested as a possible cause.

However the new survey did find that almost two-thirds of the people surveyed had done something to protect hedgehogs in the last year, with 36% avoiding the use of slug pellets, 34% leaving the twigs and leaves that provide shelter and more than 20% checking for hedgehogs before strimming or lighting bonfires.

Read on  

Stressed-out hedgehog loses its spines

Vets diagnose hedgehog with alopecia

By Nicola Harley

4:06PM GMT 04 Feb 2016

A hedgehog has lost all his spines due to alopecia brought on by his traumatic childhood.

The unusual case was discovered by vets at the A120 Veterinary Surgery near Little Hadham in Hertfordshire.

They have diagnosed Derek with alocecia after his spines began to fall out and have attributed the loss to stress.

"He's a fighter and we really want to get him 100 per cent by March so we can release him back into the wild" said Lynne Garner, who runs Herts Hogline

Lynne Garner, who runs Herts Hogline, is hoping her hedgehog will regrow his spines so he can roam free again soon.

Lynne, a published author of children's books and crafting books, said: "He's a fighter and we really want to get him 100 per cent by March so we can release him back into the wild.

"He has a very strong personality. If I try to handle him he curls up and bounces around trying to hurt me with his spines but instead I just get hit with a little ball of warm, soft skin."

"He was just a tiny hoglet - two or three weeks old and weighing 3oz - when he was found wandering in a back garden in Bishop's Stortford, Herts., last September, " she said.

Continued ...

Our humble hedgehog is disappearing fast

The much-loved species faces an uncertain future after a dramatic decline in numbers

By Geoffrey Lean

6:15AM GMT 05 Mar 2015

They’ve been around for 15 million years; hedgehogs roamed Britain with mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers. But in a single lifetime the much-loved mammals have been driven towards extinction, their national population apparently plummeting more than thirtyfold.

As Philip Larkin wrote in The Mower – a poem composed after he killed a hedgehog while cutting long grass – we have “mauled” their “unobtrusive world”. And their decline is all the more significant since – like butterflies – they are known to be an “indicator species”, whose fate mirrors what is happening to the natural world as a whole.

There has never been a full national census of hedgehogs in Britain but, back in the Fifties – extrapolating from limited data – it was estimated that there were 36.5 million of them. In 1995 a better, but still incomplete, survey put their numbers at just 1.55 million.

Continued ...

'Demon' hedgehog steals hearts of internet users despite bizarre appearance

An albino hedgehog has become a fast favourite among the internet masses after its owner posted a picture diary of the animal

5:00PM GMT 26 Nov 2014

An albino hedgehog has become an overnight internet star after its owner posted pictures of her pink eyed pet online.

The animal's owner Tokiko Kojima, 25, posted a series of images of her normal pet hedgehog alongside its albino doppelganger.

The combination of quirky and cute meant that her photoset spread like wildfire and was even syndicated by a popular website.

Tokyo-based Tokiko's hedgehogs are notably rotund, enjoying an entirely sedentary lifestyle.

Continued ...

Pocket Pets? Mini Hedgehog and Tiny Tapir Fossils Found in Canada

By Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Contributor | July 08, 2014 03:31pm ET

A miniature hedgehog smaller than a mouse and a pint-sized tapir are the first mammals ever found at a fossil site in British Columbia known for exquisitely preserved plants, insects and fish.

The new fossils date back about 50 million to 53 million years ago, to the warm Eocene Epoch, when British Columbia's climate was similar to that of Portland, Oregon, today. These are the first two mammals ever found at the dig site in Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park, and they fill in a gap the size of Canada.

"We know a lot about this time interval in Wyoming and Colorado. We know a bit about it in the high Arctic," said study researcher Jaelyn Eberle, the curator of fossil vertebrates at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. "But we know nothing about what was going on in between."

Continued

Fox and hedgehog captured eating together on webcam

24 May 2014 Last updated at 08:26

A fox and a hedgehog have become unlikely mealtime companions.

The animals have been captured sharing food on webcams set up by wildlife enthusiast Jason Alexander, at his home in Rushmere St Andrew, Suffolk.

"You naturally think the fox will see the hedgehog as prey, so I was surprised to see them feed side by side," Mr Alexander said.

"I think there have been several of each using the feeding stations. They seem to tolerate each other."

Mr Alexander, 43, has been adding to his collection of webcams over the past two years and now has about 30 - monitoring nest boxes along with visitors to his garden's feeding stations.

A log with unsalted peanut butter spread on it has also proved popular with animals

He said the hedgehogs feed about 10 times a night, and are most likely to be joined by a fox between 01:00 and 03:00.

"One of the first things I do each day is to sit with a cuppa and take a look at the footage from the night before," Mr Alexander said.

"I've got another hedgehog in a box. Her behaviour has changed recently and she's building a nest - I'm hoping it's a pregnant female."

Suffolk Wildlife Trust says that foxes "generally don't pose a threat to hedgehogs, but aren't completely benign".

Continued

Help a hungry hedgehog this spring with numbers in rapid decline

Thursday, 10th Apr 2014

Reporter: Ellis Barker Newbury News Reporter

Email: ellis.barker@newburynews.co.uk 

Contact: 01635 886639

HELP a hungry hedgehog this spring as they begin to emerge from hibernation.

Thatcham-based sanctuary Hedgehog Bottom has joined the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in its campaign to encourage residents to provide food for the spiky critters, with low quantities of insects to sustain them ahead of the breeding season.

Founder and manager of Hedgehogs Bottom, Gill Lucraft, said: “In 1955 there were 35 million hedgehogs in the country; we are now down to under one million.

“If it carries on at this rate we could lose them altogether in the next 15 to 20 years.

“Feeding them is important because they rely pretty much on back gardens – there’s nothing for them out in the country anymore.”

She has advised people to put bowls of cat biscuits under bushes to keep them dry, and shallow dishes of water around the garden.

Continued

Giant hedgehog on Clapham Common

A huge hedgehog has been installed in south London to promote David Attenborough's latest TV series.

The structure on Clapham Common took over two months to create, and with 2,000 soft wood spikes is 12ft long and 8ft wide, making it larger than a rhinoceros.

The animal will feature in the Attenborough's new show Natural Curiosities, which starts on February 18 on Watch.

According to research by UKTV, a quarter of British adults have never seen a hedgehog in the wild, while a further 74 per cent are worried about the species' declining numbers.

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Giant_hedgehog_on_Clapham_Common

Hedgehog has lucky escape after run-in with badminton net

This hedgehog was feeling more than a little prickly after getting stuck in a badminton net.

Vets who treating the prickly mammal the said the net acted like velcro when it caught on his spines and in his mouth.

The tangled hedgehog was found by a member of the public in a garden in Chard, Somerset, before they called the RSPCA.

‘Had we not been called he would not have survived,’ said officer Dudley Clements, who helped rescue the animal. ‘He had a lucky escape.

‘It may have looked like a simple kid’s badminton net but it was hazardous for this hedgehog.’

It is not known how long the hedgehog had been entangled, but he had been unable to move or feed for a while, the charity said.

‘This serves as a reminder for people who use garden sports sets to always ensure they are safely removed and stored,’ added Mr Clements.

‘Any discarded netting should be safely placed in a bin and I would ask anyone with a net in their garden to please consider the consequences for animals and birds.’

The hedgehog has made a quick recovery and it is hoped he will be released back into the wild soon.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/09/04/hedgehog-has-lucky-escape-after-run-in-with-badminton-net-3950674/

Hedgehog trapped in crisp packet in Weston-super-Mare

A baby hedgehog which found itself stuck in a crisp packet has been released after a three-and-a-half hour rescue involving six people.

The animal became trapped after it crawled into the empty wrapper in a railed off area near steps in Weston-super-Mare.

A shopkeeper heard rustling and saw the hedgehog - now named Crispian - stick his nose out.

Workers had to cut through the railings and help rescuers reach the hedgehog.
Jules Bishop, from Prickles Hedgehog Rescue, said Crispian crawled into the area as he was attracted to the warmth of the packet and the smell.

"He's thriving now and will be here all winter as he's so tiny," she said.

"I want to thank all the people involved because obviously without their commitment and dedication this little hog would have had no way to survive.

"He was very, very cold and dehydrated when I emptied him out of the crisp packet."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-20151566

Hedgehog stuck in tin of carrots rescued by RSPCA

A hedgehog is recovering in an RSPCA hospital after being found by the side of a road with its head wedged in an empty carrot tin.

The couple who discovered him cut one end of the tin off to allow the animal to breathe, before calling the RSPCA.

He was taken to the East Winch Wildlife Centre near King's Lynn, Norfolk, where staff managed to free him from the tin.

Photo:  RSPCA

The ordeal left him with minor wounds but a spokesman said the hedgehog was "resting comfortably".

Alison Charles, RSPCA centre manager, said: "This again highlights the dangers that litter can pose to wildlife.

"Incidents like this can easily be prevented if people just picked up their rubbish rather than throwing it away, and remembered to squeeze cans together before throwing them away.

"Had this hedgehog not been found he would have died a slow and painful death."

She added: "I am not sure why he chose a can of carrots to investigate. It is not the normal thing you would find on a hedgehog's choice of lunch menu.

"Perhaps he wanted to see better in the dark."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-18195580

'Watch out before lighting your bonfires,' hedgehog carers warn

Sunday 30 October 2011

THE Help a Hedgehog Hospital in Brimscombe is urging householders to be vigilant before lighting bonfires this month.

Woodpiles make ideal places for hedgehogs to sleep and raise their families in and recently a mother with a litter of autumn juveniles hoglets were found while a bonfire was being dismantled before it was rebuilt elsewhere in the garden.

"Had they not been discovered they would have perished in the fire," said hedgehog carer John Crowther.

"Ideally the entire pile should be re-sited before being lit.

"If this is not possible the base of the pile should be examined carefully using a torch or better still it should be lit the same day it is built before a hedgehog has had chance to move in."

Help a Hedgehog Hospital held an awareness event in Stratford Park on Sunday, October 18 to highlight the plight of hedgehogs. More than £400 was raised to enable the hospital to buy food and medication for many of the sick and injured animals in its care.

In addition, Alicia Dembny took part in the recent horseless event at Badminton and raised £150.

Another awareness day is being held in Bussage Village Hall from 10am until 2pm on Sunday, November 20 - come along and meet the hedgehogs.

For more details call 01453 886424 or go to www.helpahedgehog.org

http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/archive/2011/10/30/News+%28snj_news%29/9332789._Watch_out_before_lighting_your_bonfires____hedgehog_carers_warn/

Check your bonfire for hedgehogs

Piles of leaves can look like a good home
October 2011: People are being urged to remember hedgehogs during the bonfire season.

The Leatherhead-based Wildlife Aid Foundation says that if you are burning leaves or garden debris over the coming months, you should take extra care not to injure any hedgehogs or put them at risk.

Particular care should be taken if you are planning to build a big bonfire for Guy Fawkes Night.

The hedgehog population of the UK is falling rapidly and could face extinction. The Wildlife Aid Foundation believes every effort must be made to protect those hedgehogs that remain. Autumn and winter can be a particularly dangerous time of year for these creatures.

Putting hedgehogs at risk‘Burning garden rubbish or building a bonfire for November 5th puts hedgehogs at great risk,' explains Wildlife Aid Foundation director Simon Cowell. ‘People should be extremely careful, and should always watch out for hedgehogs.'

He adds: ‘Bonfire Night is a big danger as hedgehogs will always curl up and nest inside any pile of leaves or garden debris if it looks warm and inviting.

‘Ideally, you should move or turn over the entire pile of leaves, just to be extra certain. And double check any bonfire just before you light it.'

Bitter winter weather poses another risk to hedgehogs. When they hibernate their body temperature can fall to just a few degrees above freezing and their heart rate slows. They depend on their body fat to survive.

Cars are main reason behind Britain's hedgehog declineThe Wildlife Aid Foundation takes in hundreds of sick, injured and orphaned hedgehogs every year and if they are underweight the Foundation keeps them in its wildlife hospital in Leatherhead throughout the winter, giving them their only chance of survival.

The decline in the UK's hedgehog population is very serious, says Simon. ‘In 1950 there were estimated to be more than 30 million hedgehogs in Britain. Now, due mostly to the huge number of roads and cars we have in this country, the hedgehog population is down to about one million, and possibly a lot less.

‘If we don't intervene to help the hedgehog wherever and whenever we can, this most thoroughly British of all wild animals could be extinct in the next two decades.'

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/hedgehog-bonfire2011.html

Red squirrel and hedgehog under threat, study says

Red squirrel and hedgehog populations in the UK have continued to fall over the last decade, a report suggests. The 2011 State of Britain's Mammals study says the species are still under threat despite efforts to protect them.

But it says conservation schemes have benefited otters, polecats and water voles and half of the monitored species have stable or rising populations.

Read on...

Hedgehogs could be extinct in 15 years, warns zoologist Dr Toni Bunnell

Dr Bunnell claims the number of hedgehogs in Britain has decreased by 25 per cent over the last 10 years.
The causes she lists for this decline include pesticides eliminating scores of caterpillars and beetles - insects that hedgehogs feed on - as well as mowing, being caught in netting and fences and even drowning in garden ponds as they make their way from one garden to the next looking for food.
As they tend to share their habitats with predatory badgers in rural areas of the UK, the pricklier of the species is losing out.

Dr Bunnell's studies have also found that the hogs were being run over by vehicles at a rate of 50,000 a year.

This research comes at a time when red squirrels, natterjack toads and cuckoos have all been tipped to become extinct within the next five to ten years if current trends continue.

However, Dr Bunnell, who runs a hedgehog sanctuary in Holgate, said hedgehog number could be preserved by using wildlife-friendly slug pellets as opposed to pesticides, and providing the creatures with food and water.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/872284-hedgehogs-could-be-extinct-in-15-years-warns-zoologist#ixzz1V0LQXJ1A

Bald hedgehog faces pointless existence in Yarmouth

The rescue centre will continue to care for Betty if she does not develop spikes

1 June 2011

A hedgehog is facing a life in captivity due to a mystery condition that has left it without spines.

Six-week-old Betty was handed into Foxy Lodge Wildlife Rescue in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in August last year.

Ten months on it is feared she may never go back into the wild because the spines that grew fell out, making her prone to predators.

"The only way it can protect itself is with its spikes," said John Garner from the wildlife centre.

"She's currently got one or two little spikes but they get to a couple of millimetres long and then they just fall out.

Excluded by others

"Even if she made it until the winter when it's hibernation time she just wouldn't survive because the spikes are a type of hollow hair which gives them warmth as well."

It is believed the problem is a genetic disorder.

Betty's lack of spines means she cannot spend too long in the sun and she has also become frightened of other hedgehogs after many in the centre excluded her.

It is hoped Betty will eventually grow her spines back, but if she does not the shelter said it would continue to home her.

"Unfortunately, unless she gets her spikes she will live her days out with us. It's a shame but she is well treated here," said Mr Garner.

It is not the first time a bald hedgehog has turned up to the centre, prompting fears there could be a family with the condition in the town.

In 2009 a hedgehog with a similar condition was taken to Foxy Lodge but died soon after.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-13608368
(Submitted by Liz R)

Council paints lines over dead hedgehog

Friday, August 13 2010, 12:12 BST
By Mayer Nissim, Entertainment Reporter

A local council has been criticised after its workers painted a double yellow line over the body of a dead hedgehog.

The new road markings had been painted on the streets in Hartlepool, County Durham, ahead of the three-day Tall Ships Races festival, Sky News reports.

Allison Hart, 37, said: "I couldn't believe it when I saw the hedgehog - it's disgraceful.

"Workmen spent the day knocking on doors to get people to move their cars so they could draw the yellow lines.

"All they had to do was kick it with their foot so it was out of the way and then put it in a plastic bag and move it."

A Hartlepool Borough Council spokeswoman said: "Contractors have done a phenomenal amount of line painting in and around the town in preparation for the Tall Ships Races.

"They have done an exceptional job. This is obviously an unfortunate incident, but it was the only one reported during the massive project."

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/odd/news/a260920/council-paints-lines-over-dead-hedgehog.html?rss

With a broken leg over a Bank Holiday weekend, you'd be feeling a bit spiky too

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:28 AM on 4th May 2010

Any little girl with a broken leg might be slightly cheered up with a pink cast. But this tiny female patient is not letting her emotions show to those looking after her.

She is currently a guest of staff at St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Buckinghamshire.

The young hedgehog was discovered in a back garden in Northampton with a broken front right leg and pelvis.

Nurses at the hospital have put her leg in plaster and hope she will make a full recovery in six weeks.

Hedgehog Awareness Week runs until May 8 this year. The annual event aims to highlight the problems hedgehogs face in their shared environment with humans.

As with most small animals living around humans, cars pose the biggest threat to hedgehogs. Many are run over as they attempt to cross roadways.

Being nocturnal, a hedgehog snoozing in the garden can also fall victim to lawn mowers, trimmers and other gardening equipment. Another common human-related fatality is pesticides.

In 2006, fast-food chain McDonald's changed the design of its McFlurry containers because hedgehogs would get their heads stuck in the container as they tried to lick the remaining food from inside the cup.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1271080/Tiny-patient-broken-leg-highlights-Hedgehog-Awareness-Week.html#ixzz0mxVH521W

Mammals feature on new Royal Mail stamps

Click to enlarge

http://e-edition.metro.co.uk/2010/04/13/ - p8.

The new faces of Royal Animail: New stamp collection featuring Britain's at-risk mammals is released

The new faces of Royal Animail: New stamp collection featuring Britain's at-risk mammals is released

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:02 AM on 13th April 2010

Next time you post a letter, you can send it by first class hedgehog - or polecat, if there's a rush. The little creatures star in the latest series of Royal Mail stamps, released today. The series, which highlights Britain's declining mammal population, also features dormice, bats, otters, humpback whales and sperm whales, and water voles (better known as Ratty from the Wind in the Willows).

According to the Mammal Society, many of the species are in danger after losing their habitat to farming, pollution, growth in roads and housing. The collection is the fourth in Royal Mail's Action For Species series, which has previously featured birds, insects and plants. Royal Mail head of special stamps, Julietta Edgar, said the images were designed to deliver 'an important conservation message through millions of letter boxes'.



Paul Wilkinson of The Wildlife Trusts, a group of charities which focus on habitat conservation, said: 'Many are enthused and inspired by imagery of these creatures; sleeping dormice, sleek otters and the adorable water vole.
'But some may not be aware of the work which goes on behind the scenes to ensure there is adequate and suitable habitat for them.' The Mammal Society said Britain and its coastline is home to more than 60 species of mammals and while many are thriving, others have seen their populations decline. Even the seemingly prevalent hedgehog has seen a fall in numbers.



The series of stamps has been released to coincide with the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) - a United Nations conservation initiative.



Dr Robert Bloomfield, UK co-ordinator of the IYB, said: 'These stamps illustrate that even some of the most loved UK species, which we consider common or familiar, are under threat.





'Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1265474/Royal-Mail-releases-stamps-featuring-Britains-risk-mammals.html#ixzz0kyKks7xp