I must admit, I have a real soft spot for hedgehogs. A few years ago I fostered an underweight youngster that I found wandering around my garden in broad daylight (not a good sign), and so I shared my living room with the little chap for several weeks – from then on, I’ve been smitten!I don't know if it's their little button nose, their squinting eyes, or the endearing way they trundle along, but there's something wonderful about these spiny mammals.City hogsAlthough they’re woodland animals at heart, hedgehogs are incredibly adaptable and are quite at home in an urban setting. They’ve evolved to hunt at night, using their acute sense of smell to sniff out their prey of slugs, snails, worms and insects (plus the occasional fruity treat). This is a really clever tactic, because at night some of their main rivals for food – birds – are tucked up asleep. Cunning!During the cold winter months, when food is scarce, hedgehogs have another trick up their sleeve – they find a cosy corner somewhere, curl up and sleep! (Sounds like a pretty good plan to me!) During hibernation a hedgehog’s body temperature falls dramatically and its heartbeat slows from about 190 to just 20 beats per minute – something that would be fatal under normal circumstances. This helps the hedgehog to conserve energy and eke out its remaining fat reserves until warmer weather and its prey return.Hibernation really is a fascinating phenomenon – if you’re interested in learning more, have a read of this great factsheet. Super spinesI couldn’t fail to mention the hedgehog’s signature feature – it’s spines. Not only do these modified hairs have the obvious benefit of warding off predators, they also act as mini shock-absorbers if the hedgehog takes a tumble while climbing. Baby hedgehogs, or hoglets, are born with soft spines under their skin to protect mum, and a second set of spines emerge after a few days. As a hedgehog grows the number of spines increases – by the time it reaches adulthood it will have a staggering 5,000-7,000 of them! Tell-tale signsOne of the easiest ways to tell if you have hedgehogs visiting your garden is to listen out for them. They emit a series of pig-like snuffles, snorts and grunts when they’re foraging and eating – hence the name hedge ‘hog’. The hedgehog I fostered certainly wouldn’t win any prizes for its table manners - I can honestly say, I didn’t realise such a little creature could make quite such a racket when it was eating!If you’re not lucky enough to see or hear hedgehogs in the flesh, there are still ways to tell if they’ve come visiting. Be on the look out for small forage holes in your lawn, and the black, slug-shaped poo they leave behind. If you come across any small footprints you can check out our handy guide to see who made them.A gardener’s best friend Apart from just being incredibly adorable, hedgehogs are really great to have around if you're into gardening, as they feed on the slugs, snails and other wee beasties that might otherwise be munching on your prized petunias!Make a hog havenI’m pleased to say that hedgehogs still visit my garden so I got to tick them off my Make Your Nature Count list this year. They can live for up to 10 years, if they’re lucky, so I’d like to think that ‘my’ hedgehog comes back to visit every now and then! If you don't have hedgehogs in your garden at the moment though, there are lots of ways you can try to tempt them to visit. Try these tips and you never know, when Make Your Nature Count comes round again next year, you might just get to tick that box!If you're really keen you could even become a Hedgehog Champion - as seen on Springwatch!
(Oh, and if you think I sound over-enthusiastic about hedgehogs have a listen to this!)
Listen!