It's #nationalwildlifeday today which was founded by Colleen Paige and aims to highlight animals that are vulnerable to extinction.
Our much loved British hedgehog was officially classed as vulnerable to extinction last year, mainly due to a combination of habitat loss, roads and use of pest control such as slug pellets.
There are a few things we can all do to help hedgehogs in our area whether we have a garden or not:
- Avoid using slug pellets or any bait poisons.
- If you do have a hedgehog coming into your garden then you can feed it meaty cat or dog food and put out a shallow bowl of water but don't feed them milk and bread as hedgehogs are lactose intolerant. (Britishhedgehogs.org.uk)
- If you see a hedgehog out in the day and they look wobbly or have flies or ticks surrounding them then call your local wildlife rescue (British hedgehogs.org.uk).
- Don't pick up wild hedgehogs to cuddle or photograph as this causes them huge stress (Britishhedgehogs.org.uk)
- If you do have a garden then you could create a little hedgehog haven in it by removing any netting that could tangle around a hedgehog's feet or body, leave that area to grow wild, avoid using any chemicals or slug pellets and very carefully check before strimming or mowing (Hedgehog Champion, British Hedgehog Protection Society and West Midlands Hedgehog Rescue)
- Become a hedgehog champion - make a hedgehog sized hole in your garden fence or gate to allow your garden to combine with other gardens in your street and creating a much larger habitat you can then map it on the Hedgehog champion app and find out lots more about what you can do to help. (Hedgehogstreet.org).
- Donate or volunteer for your local wildlife rescue or hedgehog charity, they always need funds and volunteers to continue to help wildlife.