In 2016 the Hedgehog was voted Britain's favourite mammal in a poll run by the RSPB. However, in the last 10 years their population has decreased by a third, leaving us with less than a million in the UK. So what can we do to help our prickly friend and stop their numbers decreasing? Follow our helpful list below:
1) Make your gardens hedgehog friendly.
With new build housing favouring fencing and walls over hedgeways, the hedgehog has lost a lot of its land in recent years. Installing a hedge, or even just a hedgehog highway in your fence will give the humble hog room to roam again. Check out our previous blog which has lots of tips for making a hedgehog paradise in your garden.
2) Promote Hedgehog Safety in your Area.
A large number of hedgehogs are killed by accident by humans because they don't know they are there. Our prickled friends are very good at hiding and we often don't know our neighbourhoods are home to them. If you know your neighbourhood has some resident hogs. Perhaps a flyer, or a post on your neighbourhood Facebook page to make people aware. Encourage people to check their leaf piles before shovelling, check their bonfire before burning, and check the roads when driving.
3) Learn Hedgehog First Aid.
Would you know what to do if you found a hedgehog? Would you know how to tell if it needs help or if it's just pottering about? Knowing what to do could save a hedgehog life and keeps one more little prickly friend here with us. The Sussex Wildlife Trust has collated an extensive guide on how to help hogs.
4) Start a petition for your local council.
Get your community involved by starting a petition in your area for your council to take notice of their local prickly residents. You could encourage them to rewild an area, plant some hedgeways, install hedgehog highways, or install hedgehog road safety signs in areas where you know there is a population. Getting the community together to do something good for nature will also spread awareness and love for our hog friends.
5) Help a Local Hedgehog Rescue
Lots of people run hedgehog rescues, either at home, or at a centre. Take a look in your area and you could either volunteer to help, or see if there are any supplies they need donations of such as food. Why not run some fundraising events, or a raffle, to raise funds.
Whatever you do, each step is a start to rebuilding the population of the hedgehog, no step is too small. We'd love to hear about what you do to help our prickly friends so please do get in touch on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!
If you have Hedgehogs that visit your garden, why not invest in a Hedgehog Box Camera and see for yourself what your hedgehog friends get up to like the video above.
Shop Our Hedgehog Box Camera Range Here
we have no hedgehogs in our gardens we are over run with badgers that eat the hedgehogs