Hedgehogs in the garden

Just a small selection of the hundreds of photos that I have taken over the past couple of weeks of our visiting Hedgehogs. We regularly have at least 6 individuals coming to our little back garden in Peterborough, I know that there at least 6 because I have seen this number at one time, a great achievement considering the crash in numbers that this little mammal has had over the past ten years, over 300,000 have been lost. Reasons for this are not fully understood, but our fondness for slug pellets have caused a devastating effect as the Hedgehog will eat a poisoned slug or snail and consequently be poisoned itself, leading to an agonising and slow death for the poor creature. Also, as the name suggests, they like hedges, these have been grubbed up all over the place and replaced with fences or walls, leading to impenetrable barriers and stopping the Hedgehog on its nightly forays around the neighbourhood. If you have a fence, make a gap under it for the hog to get under.

Just a small reminder, despite what our parents and grandparents did, don't put out bread and milk for a Hedgehog, they are lactose intolerant, just put out some cat food or make up your own Hedgehog mix like I do with mealworms, sultanas and chopped-up peanuts and put out a tray or shallow container of fresh water for them to drink. They will thank you for it and repay you by keeping your slugs and snails at bay.