Well, unfortunately the crappy weather stopped me from playing out this weekend, but at least it gave me the chance to spend some quality time with my lovely wife (she reads this you know!). So seeing as my weekend has been quiet, it gives me the chance to mention the talk I attended on Tuesday night. This weeks subject matter was one of my favourite British creatures, the Hedgehog. I think Hedgehogs are one of the cutest animals we have, so I was absolutely appalled to hear that these little beauties are now one of our most endangered species! This just doesnt seem possible, I mean, Hedgehogs are everywhere arent they? Well apparently not! The species has seen a monumental decline in recent times, from an estimate of 30 million in the 1950's to just 1.5 million individuals now. Some experts even believe that they could be extinct in as little as 15 years. That is just shocking to imagine. There are many reasons for this steep fall in numbers. How we garden is a major factor, from the public being obsessed with neat + tidy gardens to decking and paving large areas, and even to restricting access to our gardens by having everywhere bricked or fenced. Slug pellets are a huge problem, whether the Hedgehogs eat them as they are or eat the slugs that have been affected by the pellets. Other problems include more road traffic, and even the fact that there are more urban foxes around. There are a couple of things that can be done to give them a helping hand, including putting food out (dog + cat food are good but bread gives them the runs!!!) and water, leaving a little gap in fences etc to help them wander from garden to garden, and using wildlife friendly slug pellets. They are just small things, but if everybody did just a small thing it could collectively be a big thing. I for one cant imagine living in a world without these lovely little creatures. It would truly be a tragedy.
Well, unfortunately the crappy weather stopped me from playing out this weekend, but at least it gave me the chance to spend some quality time with my lovely wife (she reads this you know!). So seeing as my weekend has been quiet, it gives me the chance to mention the talk I attended on Tuesday night. This weeks subject matter was one of my favourite British creatures, the Hedgehog. I think Hedgehogs are one of the cutest animals we have, so I was absolutely appalled to hear that these little beauties are now one of our most endangered species! This just doesnt seem possible, I mean, Hedgehogs are everywhere arent they? Well apparently not! The species has seen a monumental decline in recent times, from an estimate of 30 million in the 1950's to just 1.5 million individuals now. Some experts even believe that they could be extinct in as little as 15 years. That is just shocking to imagine. There are many reasons for this steep fall in numbers. How we garden is a major factor, from the public being obsessed with neat + tidy gardens to decking and paving large areas, and even to restricting access to our gardens by having everywhere bricked or fenced. Slug pellets are a huge problem, whether the Hedgehogs eat them as they are or eat the slugs that have been affected by the pellets. Other problems include more road traffic, and even the fact that there are more urban foxes around. There are a couple of things that can be done to give them a helping hand, including putting food out (dog + cat food are good but bread gives them the runs!!!) and water, leaving a little gap in fences etc to help them wander from garden to garden, and using wildlife friendly slug pellets. They are just small things, but if everybody did just a small thing it could collectively be a big thing. I for one cant imagine living in a world without these lovely little creatures. It would truly be a tragedy.
Hedgehogs are some of the sweetest creatures. My oldest daughter had two for a long while and it was sad when they were no longer around. Having them live among your wild creatures must be outstanding...very sweet images of same~
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