Hedgehogs – Young Wildlife Heroes

We all love hedgehogs and watching them visit your garden is magical. There is a lot of concern that numbers of hedgehogs are declining but there are many ways that you can help our prickly friends throughout the seasons. 

In late summer and autumn, hedgehogs are trying to build up their stores of fat ready for hibernating through the winter. They eat whatever they come across – this is called opportunistic eating – so it’s important that every mouthful is yummy and nutritious.  

Hedgehogs snuffle through the undergrowth and have an excellent sense of smell and hearing so they are great at hunting out food. They choose to eat worms, beetles, slugs and caterpillars but sometimes these can be hard for them to find. 

It would really help the prickly pigs if you could put down some extra food when they are building up their fat stores, ready to hibernate, and as soon as they come out of hibernation in the early spring. It would also be great to put some food out when it’s really hot and dry. You can leave out meat-based cat or dog food and cat biscuits, but do not put out milk because hedgehogs are lactose intolerant. They would certainly enjoy a bowl of water though. 

Thank you on behalf of all the hedgehogs out there!