Where have all the hedgehogs gone?

In 2011 the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) in partnership with the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) published a report on the state of Britain’s hedgehog population. It turned out that by 2011, there had been a 25% decline in the previous 10 years. The report was updated in 2015 and the truth is shocking. The report states:

“Since 2000, rural populations have declined by at least a half and urban populations by up to a third.”

This means unless we start to act right away, we are going to see fewer and fewer of these beautiful creatures and in the end, we will no longer see them in and around our gardens. We will loose the animal that British people voted as the nation’s favourite animal in the BBC Wildlife poll and the animal that inspired Beatrix Potter in writing our beloved tales about Mrs Tiggy Winkle.

But why is this quintessentially British mammal disappearing? – one might ask the question.

Scientists have found out that a viable population of hogs requires at least 90 hectares of unfragmented habitat. Just to make it easier for you to imagine – one hectare is just slightly bigger than the pitch at Wembley stadium.

As Hugh Warwick put it, this gets to the heart of the hedgehogs’ problem. Our gardens and green spaces are becoming more and more separated by our solid fences and walls. The potential habitats for hogs are fragmented into pieces that are not just too small to sustain a healthy population but there is not even a chance to them to get into our green spaces.

To deal with this problem in our Histon – Impington – Orchard Park area, we launch our brand new Hedgehog Gardens project. The motto: One gaol. One hole. The plan: if we all make a hole (13cmx13cm) in our fences in cooperation with our neighbours then we can have a united green space big enough to sustain healthy hedgehog populations. With this tiny little effort, we can help these small creatures and bring them back from the edge of extinction. Let’s make our community the first completely hedgehog-friendly area in the UK!

post written by Livia Nemeth