Create hedgehog havens and seven other ways to help our prickly friends

"Since 2000, the UK has lost between 30% and 75% of its rural hedgehogs. Intensive agriculture practices mean habitat has been lost, while the use of agrochemicals such as pesticides has affected populations of insects that hedgehogs eat. They're vulnerable to cars (which kill an estimated 167,000-335,000 annually), strimmers and climate change."

"We've seen stabilising and early signs of recovery in urban and suburban areas, but they still need our help. There's really good conservation work you can do from your sofa through the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme which uses camera footage to collect data on hedgehog numbers, and it needs volunteers to help identify hedgehogs on clips."

"The ideal habitat for hedgehogs is a mosaic landscape. A 13x13cm gap in or under your fence or wall will ensure hedgehogs can get in and out, and a network of these holes becomes a hedgehog highway. You may have a log pile, your neighbour may have a wildlife-friendly pond, their neighbour may have a compost heap."

Hedgehogs, Britain's favourite wild animal, face severe population decline with rural numbers dropping 30-75% since 2000. Agricultural intensification has destroyed habitats while pesticides reduce insect populations that hedgehogs depend on. Additional threats include vehicle collisions killing 167,000-335,000 annually, strimmers, and climate change disrupting hibernation patterns. However, urban and suburban areas show stabilization and early recovery signs. Conservation efforts include citizen science through the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme, which uses camera footage to track populations. Creating hedgehog highways—13x13cm gaps in fences—enables movement through connected habitats. A mosaic landscape approach linking gardens, ponds, compost heaps, and log piles provides essential corridors for hedgehog survival.

Read at www.theguardian.com