An Anglophile is hard-pressed to name a critter more charming than Britain's beloved hedgehog. The adorable spiny creature, rapidly becoming an endangered species in Britain, has long made its mark on British children’s literature. Beatrix Potter created a washerwoman hedgehog that lived in a cottage in The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. Lewis Carroll mentions them in Alice in Wonderland, when the Queen used rolled-up hedgehogs as croquet balls. Shakespeare mentions them as "hedgepigs" and "urchins" in The Tempest and Midsummer Night’s Dream. And J.K. Rowling found a use for the creatures when the wizard Thaddeus Thurkell turns seven students into hedgehogs.
Some, however, do not share the hedgehog love-fest. On the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, hedgehogs were eating bird eggs and chicks, which led to a dramatic decline in important wading birds, such as lapwings and snipe. But this situation was an exception to the rule of the British protecting hedgehogs and encouraging their populations.
Hedgehogs acquired their name due to their fondness for living in hedgerows. Because they eat slugs, snails, and other pests that damage plants, gardeners try to attract them. They do this by leaving piles of leaves and twigs for the animals to nest in and setting out food daily.
The hedgehog's Latin name is Erinaceus europaeus, and it is Britain's only mammal with spines. Babies are called "hoglets." Hedgehogs hibernate from October to April, so it's now time to bid adieu to the little critters. To hibernate, they make nests of leaves, grass, and other plant material, or use piles of logs or man-made wooden nesting boxes. (In the UK, one must take care when raking lawn scraps to build a bonfire! Horrors that a hedgehog nest would be included in the heap.)
If you live in the UK and wish to learn how to assist hedgehogs this autumn, click HERE
To visit the HEDGEHOG PRESERVATION SOCIETY website, click HERE
Some, however, do not share the hedgehog love-fest. On the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, hedgehogs were eating bird eggs and chicks, which led to a dramatic decline in important wading birds, such as lapwings and snipe. But this situation was an exception to the rule of the British protecting hedgehogs and encouraging their populations.
Hedgehogs acquired their name due to their fondness for living in hedgerows. Because they eat slugs, snails, and other pests that damage plants, gardeners try to attract them. They do this by leaving piles of leaves and twigs for the animals to nest in and setting out food daily.
The hedgehog's Latin name is Erinaceus europaeus, and it is Britain's only mammal with spines. Babies are called "hoglets." Hedgehogs hibernate from October to April, so it's now time to bid adieu to the little critters. To hibernate, they make nests of leaves, grass, and other plant material, or use piles of logs or man-made wooden nesting boxes. (In the UK, one must take care when raking lawn scraps to build a bonfire! Horrors that a hedgehog nest would be included in the heap.)
If you live in the UK and wish to learn how to assist hedgehogs this autumn, click HERE
To visit the HEDGEHOG PRESERVATION SOCIETY website, click HERE
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