LO1 - Hedgehogs Need Our Help (Draft Article)

It’s been a mild year for Britain, and now it’s approaching winter. It’s getting darker as we wake up every morning, the temperature is falling: and the leaves are making their way through the spectrum of yellow, and orange, to red, and then finally brown. It’s when these leaves blanket the ground that the little mouse-like, spiky critters decide to start settling down for the season.

Hedgehogs like to start hibernating any time from mid-October to mid-November. It’s amazing how the creatures can shut down their body and survive that way through the cold, harsh winter months. But there’s a bit of a problem when it comes to hedgehogs setting up camp for the winter.

They tend to bury themselves in piles of fallen leaves or grass cuttings, in compost heaps, under hedgerows, and even bags of rubbish. As a result, in our busy urban environments, these aren’t always the safest places to be sleeping.

There are ways we can help get these little spiny, bright-eyed little animals safely through the winter, even in our unforgiving towns and cities. We talked to Julie McCurdy, a volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary in South Yorkshire, about how we can help protect hedgehogs in the winter season.

·         If there’s a build-up of leaves in a particular area in your garden, take the time to investigate before using a fork or burning the leaves. Upon inspection you may find there could be one surprised and disgruntled hedgehog nestled in there!

·         It’s better to have woken the hedgehog up and know it’s there than accidentally making the huge mistake of throwing the whole pile in the dustbin or on a fire with a pitchfork.

·         If you wake the hedgehog, a good idea is to leave out a little food and water – cat or dog food always works a treat, or mealworms, if you’ve got them – they’re full of protein that hedgehogs just adore.

·         After a while, they will make their own way back into their little nest, or move elsewhere. However, it’s probably ideal to wait for quite a few hours before disposing of their winter dwelling – they might wander before returning to their warm and cosy home.

·         Try to avoid using slug pellets in your garden as much as you can. Alternatives to pellets include copper tape wrapped around the top of the plant pot, scattering salt on the slugs, and even seaweed scattered around the plants for its repellent high salt content.

·         To take an extra step towards helping our hedgehogs by making them their own place in your garden for them to hibernate! A corner of your garden specifically rugged and full of fallen leaves or grass cuttings would be perfect for a hedgehog who wants a peaceful, undisturbed winter sleep.

·         You could even go a step further by making a little “den”, made of wood stuffed with hay or the leaves and grass cuttings. If you make sure there’s enough room to shuffle things about and get comfy, you just might be lucky enough to have a hedgehog taking up its winter residence in your garden!

With a serious decline in hedgehogs potentially on the horizon, it’s up to us to help them carry on thriving. And by helping to get them through the difficult time of winter, we’re already halfway there.