Our Hedgehogs are in Danger!

This winter, Hedgehogs need our help more than ever. Due to an unusually warm summer Hedgehogs have given birth to a third litter rather than the usual two, and the lateness of these births means hoglets have not had enough time to fatten up before hibernation which means it is unlikely they will survive the winter.

Since 1950, Hedgehog numbers have fallen from 30million to only 1million. We’ve made it more difficult for them to forage for food as cities have grown and we’ve built up fences around our gardens preventing access. With such a lack of food, the young Hoglets have barely any chance of reaching the necessary weight to survive hibernation – they must weigh at least 600g (21oz) – and we need to help them!

It’s not all bad news though, you can do your bit to help the Hoglets survive the winter. B&Q have teamed up with the Wildlife Aid Foundation to design a ‘hoglet drive-thru’ in an attempt to encourage us all to build our own feeding stations. These feeding stations should have a doorway just big enough for hedgehogs so that no predators can get in, and filling it with appropriate food, they can eat white meat dog or cat food in jelly (not gravy) served in a saucer or shallow bowl, special hedgehog food can be found in pet shops and mealworms are great for attracting the brilliant beasts.

If you can’t build your own feeding station then you can still help by making sure the hedgehogs can get into your garden to forage for food by making a gap just big enough in your fence. Take a look at our hedgehog houses too, so you can keep the cute critters safe during their hibernation. If we don’t do something now to help, it’s likely we’ll see an urban extinction by 2025.

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