Little hedgehogs

So, I have recently started to volunteer at a local wildlife and ecology group. Through this group I have become acquainted with various rescue organisations that focus on one type of animal or another. Moving to a market town in the southwest part of the UK, from an urban environment, I’ve become quite taken by seeing hedgehogs out and about, usually at night.

In the past four days, however, we’ve taken in sixbabies. Some of them have been kicked out of the nest because of parasites and some have been found injured—mostly from strimmers. Day nests are often made under hedges, and clearing leaves out from underneath hedges right now can inadvertently disturb babies and juveniles that are still needing fattening up before winter hibernation. They are such stoic animals and rarely make a fuss about their injuries, an instinct is so strong for them to stay quiet.

I hope it’s okay to ask this subreddit to just have a look in long grass and leaf piles, or logs, before you tidy your gardens for the winter. Especially if you’re going to use a strimmer or mower to cut down edges of lawn or under hedges. I know we all do our best to balance aesthetics with conservation, so this is just a gentle request to remember little creatures use our gardens too.

With climate change we have seen a lot of late season hedgehog births. At this point, if you see a hedgehog out in the day it’s not okay. Try to catch it in a clean towel, put it in a box and contact a local rescuer. In a pinch, please take it to your local vet. If they can’t find a way to save it, they should give it a peaceful death.

TLDR: please check your hedges and long grass for late-season born baby hedgehogs before tidying your garden or strumming or mowing. Thanks!