Mayo hedgehogs and the ongoing battle with poisonous chemicals
COUNTRYVIEW
HEDGEHOGS, it seems, are facing unprecedented problems, even to the point where they are becoming endangered.
And it's true, though I entertained them often, I’ve hardly seen one in the garden for the entire year.
There was one individual that moved into a friend’s dog kennel and had to be rehomed (before the neighbours lost their collective mind on account of the nightly protestation of the kennel’s proper inhabitant).
But as for 2024, myself and members of the hedgehog tribe, interaction has been limited. So what, we must ask, has happened to these prickly creatures?
Surely there is still enough wilderness left in this country to hold a viable population?
In some areas road traffic accounts for too many hedgehogs. At this time of year they should be sleeping, but we have had such warm temperatures they are still out searching for food at night.
And as the amount of food available becomes diminished through the winter, the poor things run into a kind of negative equity, where the energy spent searching for sustenance is greater than the rewards earned.
If this situation persists and weight loss occurs, the hedgehog runs the real risk of dropping below the critical weight threshold of 600 grams, below which successful hibernation is unlikely, unless the winter is particularly short and mild. A more acceptable weight is 650 grams.
Now, I’m not suggesting any of us try and put our local hedgehog on the scales.
Such an endeavour would be stressful for the animal in question, and would likely cause painful injury to fingers and thumbs.
A better way to gauge the health of our local hedgehog, if we are fortunate enough to have one, is to look at its rear end.
If this is full and round, the animal likely has a good store of fat and will manage quite well.
But if things are looking a little thin or if the creature has an angular appearance, it might be an idea to provide a few high protein meals while we can.
As soon as we get a few frosty nights hedgehogs will try to hibernate, regardless of their condition. So if you are fortunate enough to play host to one or more of these charming little beasts, do what you can to help it along.
While there is little danger of us losing them altogether, the fewer there are the longer and more difficult any kind of recovery will take.
So what do they like to eat? In the normal course of things hedgehogs are omnivorous. They like fruit, but prefer slugs and snails. Slugs and snails also like fruit. So do we. And within this little conflict it is we who hold sway.
In an attempt to limit the damage wrought by slugs we resort to the use of poisonous chemicals.
Slugs that consume these are obviously also poisonous, and a hungry hedgehog eager to put on a few extra grams has no concept that the food it finds might be toxic.
The same goes for weedkiller. A bit of a spray here and there might seem like nothing to us, but to the insects that come into contact with it, such a thing can be a death sentence.
A small bit of chemical contamination on one or two items of food might not be terribly detrimental, but when everything you eat is similarly affected, well, it is bound to have some kind of negative impact.
Our hedgehog might not be found dead alongside all those poisoned invertebrates, but come next spring, when we hope to see him again, he might just not be there.
As a nation we are doing well in reducing our reliance on chemicals. There is still a lot to do, as our failing wildlife will tell us.