Monday's Magic Moment: Is your town a hog haven?

Ever thought of swapping your 9-5 to become a hedgehog championer?

As reported in several news outlets last week, Suffolk Wildlife Trust is looking to recruit a ‘hedgehog officer’. As the ‘face of hedgehog conservation’, the chosen candidate will strive to make Ipswich – already a hog hotspot – the most hedgehog-friendly town in Britain.

How great does that sound?

There’s just one problem though. I’m pretty sure the hedgehog capital of the UK isn’t Ipswich but my own town of St Neots in Cambridgeshire. I’ll tell you why...

Until I moved to this market town on the river Great Ouse, I could probably count the times I’d seen a hedgehog on one hand. And sadly, many times those hedgehogs were, well, ex-hedgehogs. But it’s a different story now.

My first St Neots hog appeared to me after getting off the bus one night. I noticed a spiny silhouette pottering in the grass by the side of the road, so crept over for a better look. I watched gleefully for a good few minutes, the hedgehog taking my company in its tiny stride before disappearing under a bush.

Chuffed with my sighting, I continued home. Then, just as I got to my gate, I saw another scuttling down a side road. Two hedgehogs in one night?! I immediately texted my mum.

Garden guests

As well as the occasional random sighting, we have two hogs making regular use of our garden. Next door puts out food and, most nights at about 10pm, the prickly pair cross our lawn and squeeze under next door’s hedge for their supper. If we have the kitchen door open, sometimes you can hear them making strange ‘huffing’ noises. It’s apparently a sign of contentment.

Hedgehogs have quite a vocabulary of squeaks, grunts and snuffles - have a listen here.

Unfortunately, St Neots and Ipswich are very much anomalies. Hedgehog sightings across the UK are dramatically falling: from an estimated 36 million of them in the 1950s, there are now thought to be just one million of these spiny mammals left in the UK.
In a nutshell, these creatures which have been around for millions of years just aren’t coping with today’s modern world. But there are ways we can help.

Helping hedgehogs

One big problem is that modern gardens are much more securely enclosed, with no gaps in fences for wildlife to pass through. Hedgehogs like to sleep in gardens during the day then venture out to deserted parks at night in search of food and other hogs. By making ‘hedgehog holes’ in your fence (maybe ask your neighbour first!) or leaving gaps under gates, we can help these garden dwellers move about more freely.

• You can also bolster your chances of seeing (or hearing) a hedgehog by taking part in Big Wild Sleepout, 29-31 July. Pitch a tent in your garden and keep an ear out. Maybe your town will be the one to turn the tide on hedgehog numbers?
• Read about how Suffolk Wildlife Trust are making Ipswich a hedgehog-friendly town.

And to see more fantastic wildlife photos like this one, go to RSPB Images.