We adore hedgehogs – but how much do we really know about our prickly friends? Enter the hidden world of the hedgehog and find out what makes them tick with ecologist Hugh Warwick
Hugh Warwick is an ecologist and author who has devoted his life to the study and protection of hedehogs. He is the spokesperson of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.
Every time there is a poll to discover the nation’s favourite mammal or nature icon, the hedgehog wins. We are a nation of hedgehog lovers. They are deeply embedded in our society, from children’s stories to imagery. Next time you are in a garden centre, look for the most frequently appearing animal on cushions, mugs, mobiles and other knicknacks. I imagine it will have spines.
Yet we are managing to let this iconic beast slip through our fingers. Research that the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) undertakes with the People’s Trust for Endangered Species shows how the population of hedgehogs in the UK has been declining. We don’t have a number for how many there are, but we do know that since the year 2000, we have lost 25% of our urban hedgehogs, and up to 75% of those living in rural areas.
With less scientific rigour, based on my collection of anec-data – anecdote-based data collected from the hundreds of talks I have given to Women’s Institutes, Gardening Clubs and University of the Third Age groups – it is not unreasonable to suggest there has been at least a 90% decline in the British hedgehog population since the end of the Second World War.
Helping hedgehogs can seem daunting. There are large structural problems with the way our landscape is used for industrial agriculture, development and transport that impact heavily on the ability of hedgehogs to thrive. These need to change – and not just for hedgehogs
