Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2011 | Page 76

COUNTRY LIFE

Hedgehogs need corridors
By Tiki Leggett, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
The hedgehog is one of our favourite
mammals. But its populations
have declined alarmingly in the
last decade. Tiki Leggett, Assistant
Biodiversity Officer, at the
Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife
Trust explains how a new project
could help these endearing creatures.
Amazingly, the hedgehog has been
around for over 15 million years. Our
hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus, occurs
across the continent and, at the end of
the last Ice Age, was well established
and widespread in Britain. However,
hedgehog numbers are difficult to
estimate. Like many smaller mammal
species, they probably have ‘boom
and bust’ years. They are notoriously
difficult to survey, as they are both
nocturnal and shy, and there is much
we do not know about hedgehog
behaviour. It’s a genuine concern that
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everyone seems to agree that you just
don’t see as many hedgehogs as you
used to. Best estimates suggest that
in the 1950s there were around 35
million animals. Today, there may be
as few as a million – that’s just three
percent of the original population.
So what can be done for this iconic
garden species?
Wildlife corridors, intrinsic to the
Wildlife Trusts’ vision of Living
Landscapes, could be a solution.
Corridors are the ‘wild’ spaces needed
to connect areas of natural habitat and
allow species to migrate and disperse.
They buffer plants and animals from
the effects of inbreeding, natural
disasters, illness and predation.
Corridors may need to be as large as
river valleys and woodlands. But the
smallest corridor in the right place,
like a strategic hole in a garden fence,
can make all the difference to some

species, like hedgehogs.
Our gardens are hotspots for many
insects and refuges for garden birds,
and seem to be the home of choice
for the hedgehog. The Wildlife Trust’s
Garden Wildlife Survey, launched
in 2010, shows the relationship
between hedgehogs and our gardens.
Of the 500 plus contributors to the
countywide survey, 180 reported
seeing hedgehogs, alive and well, in
their gardens. But, hedgehog radio
tracking studies have revealed insights
into the hedgehog’s habits. These
suggest it is not our individual gardens
that are chosen, but the broader urban
habitat, which provides the food,
nesting material and hibernation sites
that hedgehogs require.
The size of a hedgehog’s home
range is surprising. Male hedgehogs
routinely use a range over 20 hectares,
which often overlaps with smaller