Did you know hedgehogs might be extinct by 2025?

[WTCT]

I became an accidental hedgehog fosterer this time last year.

I found a hedgehog in my garden that looked a bit small (tennis ball sized). I contacted a local wildlife rescue who confirmed it wouldn’t survive hibernation, but told me they were full.

They asked if I’d be prepared to foster it over winter (keep it inside, and warm so it didn’t hibernate... at that weight, she wouldn’t wake up from hibernation). I said yes, with their support.

What followed was a roller coaster 6 months. She was very poorly and needed lots of looking after. But, in April this year we released her. We saw her most nights for about 3 weeks, but then she vanished and we haven’t seen her again.

She may have found new territory. She may have come to an untimely end. We don’t know. But we do know she would never have survived her first winter.

Fast forward to this year... we now have 2 which we will ‘over winter’, and another one we found tonight (250g) who will go to the vet tomorrow as she’s poorly... making 3! 🦔🦔🦔

Anyway... the point of my post.

In the 1950’s there were around 30 million hedgehogs in the uk. Now there are less than 1m. Current projections show they may be extinct by 2025...

Can I ask you all to look out for them in your area? If they are less than grapefruit sized, please weigh them.

If they are under 600g, please take them indoors, get them warm, give them access to water and take them to a vet (who will pass them to a wildlife rescue) or contact a rescue direct?

Also... they survive by walking from garden to garden (up to 2 miles a night). Please consider putting CD sized holes in your fences to make their passage easier.

It would be such a shame to lose them all!

Thank you! 🦔

Badgers are not the reason hedgehogs are in decline, it’s habitat loss and fragmentation. Yes, badgers predate hedgehogs, but ultimately the two have been around for many millennia. Blaming badgers is another way of supporting the cull, which itself has little scientific evidence.

Hedgehogs will not be extinct by 2025. They are becoming rarer but some counties have fairly good populations still.

We have hedgehogs living in a pile of wood at the top of our garden, it's a mess but I really don't care as our little spiky friends love it.
I can't bear to think that we may lose them all in a few years, it's so sad.

My wildlife hating neighbours blocked the hole in the fence that the hedgehog used to scuttle through. I'm end of terrace and don't see hedgehogs in the garden anymore .
I've been meaning to put a hedgehog hole in the back fence.

Have seen some in our lane the last two years - the first since living here for 20 years. Hope people's efforts are going to prevent their extinction. I think the use of slug pellets and garden pesticides is part of the problem?

We often see a hedgehog in our garden. I don't know if it lives here or if it's just a visitor. I don't put food out for it because there are so many beetles, slugs and snails here that it has plenty to eat and we don't use slug pellets or weedkiller etc. The last time I saw it, a few weeks ago, it looked to be of a decent size.

How easily do they find the holes? My garden is half brick wall, half fence, and a gate. If I make a couple of holes will they manage to get in and out?

We made a feeding station to keep cats and rain off the food and hedgehog came every night over the summer no sign since mid October so I’m assuming he’s gone into hibernation, he was huge so should be ok. They are declining due to people wanting manicured gardens with a loss of suitable habitat like wood piles also the use of pesticides like slug pellets is killing them off.

We have had and fed local hedgehogs, but the biggest danger round here seems to be traffic, and several have been killed in our area by cars, including I think at least one of our previous visitors (DS found it and was quite upset ). So one of the best things you can do for them is to take care when driving or parking after dark!

We've got a big logpile which we have not touched for years, our garden is full of hidey places and a few access points but its also full of cats, so its hard to stop them taking the food.

We are having several a day brought into our surgery, but all the rescues are full so we are struggling to find places to overwinter them as we can not keep them.

I have seen loads of hedgehogs dead in the road near me recently, it really upsets me, why can’t people drive more carefully.

I think the use of slug pellets and garden pesticides is part of the problem?

Absolutely.

Hedgehogs walk up to two miles a night in search of food but they will march regular routes when food is available @GrotbagsBetterLookingSister ... looks like they like your garden!

@picklemepopcorn ... if there are hedgehogs in your area, and you put out food and water regularly, they are really likely to find it eventually, and once they’ve found it, chances are they’ll come back repeatedly. They only need a cd sized hole in a fence to get through.

@Exp1etiveDeLighted ... if you’d like to encourage hedgehogs and save their food from cats, you could consider making something like this?

@BettyBooJustDoinTheDoo it’s upsetting, isn’t it?

Hedgehogs can move really quickly for their size (up to 4mph), and given they move around at night, I suppose it’s inevitable that some will run into the road, and cars won’t be able to avoid them 😢

I know some people at our allotment use slug pellets. And I can see them scattered over the neighbours garden. I've never used them.

We’ve had lots of visitors in our garden since we’ve been in current house but then we aren’t gardeners so most we do is cut grass and occasional weeding. Plenty of places in the overgrown bushes for hogs. Been feeding one in particular who I thought looked small but haven’t seen for almost 2 weeks now and he kept to a very strict timetable in terms of coming to our back door for food. Hope he’s safe and survives.

We have had a massive resurgence in the local hedgehog population in recent years. Sadly the best evidence of this is just how many are being squished on the road, but I've seen hedgehogs on a regular basis rather than it being a once in a decade experience it was previously.

The reason:

We are in a badger cull area. That's the only thing that has changed in the same time period.

So I disagree with Kernowgal, badgers and hedgehogs have never existed happily, badger numbers have got out of control due to their protection from humans and lack of natural predators. It is no surprise to people with intimate knowledge of the countryside that hedgehog and groundnesting bird numbers have plummeted since the protection of badgers.

Long live the hedehog.