March and early April in Ireland is when hedgehogs stir from hibernation. A growing fear among conservationists here is that fewer are coming out each passing year. <\/p>\n
Numbers are hazy. \u201cThey\u2019re probably in decline here, because they\u2019ve declined everywhere else,\u201d says Elaine O\u2019Riordan, whose PhD research at University of Galway<\/a> investigates Irish hedgehogs. \u201cWe\u2019re facing the same environmental problems as Britain, France and Scandinavia.\u201d <\/p>\n European hedgehogs shuffled into trouble, barely noticed, with a 30 per cent decline in 10 years. In 2024, the once abundant mammal moved from \u201cleast concern\u201d to \u201cnear threatened\u201d in conservation rankings. <\/p>\n The UK has documented a very severe decline in hedgehogs, with an estimated loss of three out of four from rural areas since the turn of the century. The same may be true in Ireland, but we don\u2019t have numbers now or historic numbers for comparison. O\u2019Riordan is trying to fill in some gaps. <\/p>\n Habitat loss is a big problem. \u201cThe clue is in the name. They like hedges,\u201d says O\u2019Riordan. \u201cWhen shrubby, scrubby areas and hedges are taken away, their habitat is gone.\u201d <\/p>\n Hedgehogs have adapted to suburbia, especially locations with plentiful green gardens, parks and green areas. As nocturnal animals, hedgehogs can live close to people without notice. People can be surprised to find hedgehogs living in the middle of Galway city. <\/p>\n Sophie Rasmussen, a leading expert on hedgehogs at the University of Copenhagen, recently gave a talk in Trinity College Dublin<\/a> when she visited for an Irish hedgehog crisis meeting. <\/p>\n In Denmark<\/a> she has ginned up interest through a national hedgehog campaign, visiting schools and clubs interested in helping local hedgehogs. <\/p>\n \u201cThe battle to save hedgehogs is going to take place in our own backyards, in gardens, because that is where they live nowadays,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n During her visit, Rasmussen met Amy Haigh of University College Cork<\/a>, O\u2019Riordan and others to set up Hedgehog Conservation Ireland<\/a> and plan the battle ahead for hedgehogs. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve made life really hard for them with the loss of hedgerows and intensification of agriculture,\u201d says Rasmussen. <\/p>\n In Denmark, hedgehogs living in residential areas routinely visit 10 to 14 gardens, often following a similar route each night. <\/p>\n [\u00a0How to help hedgehogs: Researchers outline \u2018simple steps\u2019 in effort to save speciesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n They construct nests from leaves, using brambles, brushwood and other structures for support, but will nest under sheds or man-made hedgehog houses. Irish hogs are similar. <\/p>\n The only significant Irish research on this mammal, however, was a PhD project completed by Haigh in 2011. She followed a population of hedgehogs in a farming area outside Bandon in Co Cork for three years, catching and tagging 23 animals. <\/p>\n During the summer breeding season, her hogs roamed pastures and mature gardens. She saw them using small parcels of arable land too, which was a surprise as arable can be something of a wildlife desert. But the hedgerows were not intensively chopped back. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was allowed to flower and fruit and it had a bramble understorey, which was really important for them to build their nests,\u201d says Haigh. <\/p>\n Typically hedgehogs switch between a handful of nests during the summer. The females outside Bandon ranged around 16 hectares in total, with males stepping out for females ranging 32 hectares. This increased the risk that they would meet their nemesis \u2013 the car. <\/p>\n Kildare Wildlife Rescue took in about 500 injured hedgehogs last year. \u201cWe are seeing less of them every year. A couple of years ago we might have seen 700,\u201d says Dan Donoher at the rescue centre. <\/p>\n One problem is the use of pesticides in field crops. In a study of more than 100 hedgehogs in Denmark, Rasmussen found that nine out of 10 had pesticides in their body. About 83 per cent of them had rat poison in their liver. <\/p>\n \u201cSometimes the poison smells like honey and they will eat it,\u201d she explains. \u201cIf they come across a dead mouse or rat that was poisoned, they may eat that.\u201d The pesticides reduce their insect food and probably take a toll on their own health too. <\/p>\n Still, hedgehogs have a superpower, beyond their prickles. \u201cThey\u2019re such loved animals,\u201d says Haigh. \u201cPeople feel an affinity to them because they are an animal you can get quite close to.\u201d <\/p>\n Hedgehogs tend to stay local and are repeat visitors to gardens or green areas. \u201cEverybody loves hedgehogs,\u201d says Rasmussen, who earned the nickname Dr Hedgehog (Dr Pindsvin in Danish) in her home country. <\/p>\n There is plenty people can do to help them. Having native plants will attract hedgehog prey. <\/p>\n \u201cIn Denmark, we have this concept called wild on purpose. We are not messy or lazy. We\u2019re letting the garden go a little wild,\u201d says Rasmussen. <\/p>\n [\u00a0Why are hedgehogs on the move at all times of day and night?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n People might let a small corner of their garden go wild but it is also crucial to allow them entry. \u201cWe recommend people put in a hedgehog highway,\u201d says Donoher. <\/p>\n This means putting a gap or hole in a fence or wall of just 13 by 13cm \u2013 the width of a CD \u2013 to allow them to roam around at night. When she rented in Oxford, Rasmussen unscrewed a board in the fence so there was a gap (and put it back when leaving). <\/p>\n \u201cIf a hedgehog\u2019s territory gets larger, they have a better chance of survival,\u201d says Donoher. Another way to help them is to provide hedgehog houses. <\/p>\n In winter, hedgehogs can be vulnerable to hungry foxes digging them out. When active, they are occasionally hunted by badgers. But dogs off leash probably take a greater toll. <\/p>\n \u201cJust one small puncture wound can get infected and can kill a hedgehog,\u201d Rasmussen says. The oldest Danish animal that she examined was 16 years old before it died from an infected dog bite. <\/p>\n Some dogs tolerate them and hedgehogs can live in gardens with dogs. Kildare Wildlife Rescue mostly gets juveniles injured by dogs since their spines are not as protective as in adults. <\/p>\n However, most injuries seen by the rescue centre are caused by gardening<\/a> accidents, especially someone using a strimmer to cut long grass or tidy under a hedge without checking what\u2019s there. It doesn\u2019t help that a hedgehog\u2019s natural instinct is to curl up and stay still. <\/p>\n \u201cThey get some horrific injuries from strimming. Members of the public are often quite upset when that\u2019s happened,\u201d says Donoher. \u201cWe\u2019ll do everything we can to save them and put them back into the wild.\u201d <\/p>\n Robotic lawnmowers can also wound them.<\/a> Rasmussen has worked with mower manufacturers so that they can detect and avoid them \u2013 she brings along a 3D printed hedgehog crash test dummy. Increased road traffic hasn\u2019t helped. Cars kill one out of three hedgehogs a year <\/p>\n Hedgehogs are omnivores, and will eat carrion or small animals if they can catch them. They regularly snack on beetles, caterpillars, millipedes, worms and small slugs, making them popular with gardeners. They will chomp on dog or cat food if they come across it and some might be cheeky enough to enter houses through cat flaps. <\/p>\n Hedgehog behaviour can surprise people. They are constantly on the lookout for food and will eat birds\u2019 eggs, mice, frogs or anything else they can grab. <\/p>\n \u201cThey look so cute, but they are also ferocious predators,\u201d says Rasmussen. \u201cI\u2019ve seen them attack birds, including adult pigeons, and winning.\u201d <\/p>\n Those who want to be a Hedgehog Hero can sign up to the mailing list at hedgehogsireland.com<\/a>. Information material and various initiatives are being prepared by the group. Hedgehog sightings can be reported to Biodiversity Ireland at https:\/\/biodiversityireland.ie\/surveys\/irish-hedgehog-survey\/<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March and early April in Ireland is when hedgehogs stir from hibernation. A growing fear among conservationists here…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[3025,19876,61,60,3738,82,15342,5761,13354,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-378008","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-denmark","9":"tag-gardening","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-nature","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-trinity-college-dublin-tcd","15":"tag-university-of-galway","16":"tag-university-college-cork-ucc","17":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}