Springtime Hedgehogs – British Hedgehog Preservation Society

As the nights start to get shorter and the weather (hopefully) starts to warm up, Britain’s Favourite Wild Mammal, the hedgehog, will start to wake up from hibernation.

During hibernation their bodies cool and their heart rates drops to just a faint 20 beats per minute. Their body temperature which is normally 35°C drops to 10° or less and they only breathe about once every few minutes. They will have spent the winter tucked up in nests made of dry leaves, grass and other vegetation maybe under hedges or piles of wood, inside compost heaps or under sheds or decking.

So don’t be too tidy in the garden in the spring. Be careful when doing that first cut of the grass – keep an eye out for any unusual mounds in the grass or hedge bases and check them carefully for sleeping hedgehogs before you get out the mower. Don’t go raking carelessly through any piles of leaves which could be prime hibernation spots for hedgehogs. If a corner of your garden has gone a bit wild over the winter, why not leave it to provide some shelter for wildlife and a habitat for the invertebrates that hedgehogs feed on. March and April are the months when most hedgehogs wake up and you may start seeing signs of hedgehog activity in your garden again. This is a key time for hedgehogs; they need to replenish their fat reserves after their long winter sleep so food will be the first thing on their agenda. If they wake early, natural foods (beetles, caterpillars, worms etc.) can still be a bit scarce. So now is the time to start putting out supplementary food and water for them again. Offer meaty cat, dog or hedgehog food or dry cat biscuits alongside a shallow dish of fresh water each night.

Once they’ve eaten and drunk, the next thing will be the need to find a mate. So make sure your garden and your neighbours’ gardens are linked up to make a “hedgehog highway”. The more gardens that you can link up the greater the chance of hedgehogs being able to meet up. It only needs a 13cm square gap at the bottom to allow a hedgehog through and once you’ve created your hedgehog highway you can log it on the BIG Hedgehog Map at www.bighedgehogmap.org - the map also accepts sightings of hedgehogs! Hopefully come the summer the next generation of hoglets will be out and about in your garden and the cycle can begin again. n For more information about helping hedgehogs please see www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk

Photos credits: British Hedgehog Preservation Society