Where have all the hedgehogs gone?
I love hedgehogs. However, we had an incident at HQ last week and it’s got me thinking of some questions.
Firstly, I want to explain. The dogs – they are hunters, and it has been quite a challenge showing them the difference between things you can chase/hunt, and things you simply cannot.
With the chickens and ducks, we have this firmly covered and they potter around the farm happily and securely, both knowing they are safe in the presence of each other and actually have the odd fun and hilarious playful interactions. Magpies, crows and rabbits are a totally different matter however, and all parties concerned stay WELL clear, or they inevitably end up in some sort of carnage.
Now comes news of the hedgehog....
I remember as a young child we had many interactions with hedgehogs. We would see them on the patio at dusk and sometimes wombling around the garden when we had broken our bedtime curfew. The most vivid memory was a rescue and successful recovery mission, where for some reason deciding it was a good idea to dry said hedgehog with a hairdryer (cool setting I may add), with the hedgehog happily uncurling to enjoy the whole process.
But honestly, as children we really had no idea that this wondrous creature would be so affected human intervention, and now are officially vulnerable to becoming extinct.
So last week on my early morning walk with the dogs, I was shocked to see a hedgehog out in the middle of the hay field, and had to make a very fast decision on what the best action would be. Before I had time to re- route, one of the dogs had picked her up and went hurtling past me. Sheer panic took over and after quickly catching up with them, Amber, who had a mouth full of prickles, had decided better of it and dropped the poor hedgehog on the ground. I took the dogs back home and decided (although it was now raining hard) to go back and check if the hedgehog was ok.
I am not sure how deep your knowledge is, but even though I would call myself a country girl I had absolutely no idea what to do! So, I reached out to google … ‘google – what do you do when you find a hedgehog ??’
Good old Google taught me all sorts of facts that I either had no idea about, or had forgotten long ago...
Hedgehogs are in serious decline.
Hedgehogs hibernate from November to March.
They wander up to 12 miles a night (!)
The UK hedgehog population has fallen by HALF since 2000.
In 1950 we had 36 million in the UK, however their numbers have dropped dramatically to a measly 1 million today.
If you see a hedgehog out in the daytime, it is almost certainly in trouble
Hedgehogs have an incredible lookalikey. Happily evolving away in Madagascar for 100 million years, the tenrec is unrelated to the hedgehog but will make you do a double take.
This was the advice that made me worry the most, and along with the free taxi ride from Amber, I decided the right thing to do was to find a suitable box and along with two very keen budding ecologists (my children), we commenced with OHR (Operation Hedgehog Rescue).
Now, as random as this may sound I was aware of a wonderful lady in our village, aptly named Mrs Hedgehog. I had never been to her house to see the scale of her operation - but I was confident that she would be able to help us. We found some oven gloves and a little box, retraced my steps and found the hedgehog looking very shocked. Whilst picking her up, we were still half questioning if we were doing the right thing?
It was just a short journey to the kind lady In the village, with the hedgehog in a box on Bertie’s lap. The children were thrilled, as they had never seen a hedgehog up close, and were wondering at its prickles, as only children can. She was still in a tight ball but an ear could just be made out.
“I didn’t know hedgehogs had ears!” exclaimed Bertie.
On arrival ( bearing in mind it is still only 7.30am) – Tracy, aka Mrs Hedgehog, appeared at the door in her dressing gown – I was slightly embarrassed at the early morning intrusion, but Mrs Hedgehog was keen to see what was in the box and quickly ushered us around to the back gate to get a closer look.
We made our way around the corner of the house into a back utility area and the room opened up into a vast 3 tiered shelving system FULL of hedgehogs! We couldn’t quite believe our eyes - this woman is a hedgehog hero! She is doing the most amazing work, (all self-funded I may add), and I have so much admiration for this selfless lady.
Gloves on, she lifted the hedgehog out of the box (still in a tight ball). “Gosh!” She exclaimed, “this is a big hedgehog. She is possibly pregnant, possibly nursing”. She also had a small amount of blood on a few of her spines, but this fully armed little beauty hadn’t succumbed to the dog – Amber was the one with the bleeding mouth! Touché, my friend, touché.
Mrs Hedgehog advised us to leave the hedgehog with her for a few hours so she could see and examine it uncurled, give it a drink, and some food. She told us it was possible the hog would need to be returned to the exact spot if she was happy it wasn’t injured. If it turned out she was just on an early morning forage to feed her little hoglets, we may have just rudely interrupted her return to her babies.
So, we left her in Mrs Hedgehog’s capable hands, and headed to catch the school bus - the children in a flurry of anticipation at the prospect of telling their teachers and classmates all about their exciting morning of rescuing Hedgehogs and seeing so many others in Mrs Hedgehog’s back kitchen.
Mrs Hedgehog finally called me around mid-morning. She was happy the rescue was in good order and uninjured. She had uncurled, had a belly full of dry cat biscuits and some fresh water, and so felt the best plan was to return her to the exact spot where I initially saw her in the hay field, in the hope she would carry on her way (following a very random breakfast).
Armed with my rather fetching Christmas oven gloves, I set back off with a hedgehog in a box to the hay field. She uncurled in the box on the walk, and I may have imagined it, but felt there was a little wink of thanks for her rescue and breakfast. She then swiftly re-curled as I lifted her out of the box. I put her down, covered her in some of the longer grass and made my way back.
All this hedgehog interaction reaffirmed my warm childhood feelings towards these wondrous creatures and it got me thinking - what can we do to help these amazing creatures, and how can we all, as individuals, make sure that the new ways of living don’t impact the populations of our creatures?
I am a woman of action, so here are some tips to think about how we can all do our bit in supporting the ecology of our beautiful island.
Plant pollinators in your garden. or on your windowsills, or balconies, if thats what you have. With just a few pots containing plants and flowers that encourage insects, this will help bring those dwindling insect numbers back (blog about insects to follow). Even just a small area of bee and pollinator friendly plants can be life enhancing.
Bike and walk more, drive less. Get those endorphins going with a bit of exercise each day and improve air quality in your community whilst you're at it.
Educate your children. Educate your friends and family! Our world is precious and we need to look after it, together.
Reduce, reuse, recycle. Try going plastic free, or use as little as possible. Fix that old bike instead of buying a new one. Upcycle or give away.
Conserve water. Showers instead of baths, taps off whilst brushing your teeth. It's the little things!
Choose sustainable food. Go organic if you can. Try eating foods that are in season to reduce your carbon footprint and food miles.
Plant a tree. Plant a hundred trees! Choose sustainable companies, who are working to become carbon neutral.
Cut out and reduce chemicals in the home and garden. Try cleaning your home with our Apple Cider vinegar instead of using harsh chemicals. (Keep an eye out on our social media channels for top tips on how to use it in other ways.)
Try not to interfere too heavily with Mother Nature. She is a clever madam and does her own thing regardless. The ‘No Mow May’ initiative has proven hugely beneficial to hedgerows, verges, and wildlife alike.
All these actions are essential to the ecology of British Wildlife.
And I know what you’re all wondering – yes, our lovely hog had gone when I ventured back up to the hay field an hour later. Possibly back to her hedgehog husband to exclaim – “well, you won’t believe what just happened to me!” Or possibly just back to her little brood.
But let us use this experience as an education to us all – we must face the reality that we all have a responsibility to protect British Wildlife and this planet of ours in every way we can.
And we still need to answer the question here… Where have all the hedgehogs gone???
The removal of hedgerows, habitat loss, intensive farming, loss of insects and urban expansion are all contributing to their decline.
If you would like to learn more about the selfless work of Mrs Hedgehog, then click on the link below.
https://m.facebook.com/thehedgehoghogspital/