FOR A HAPPY VALENTINE – HUG A HEDGEHOG!

Well, actually, you can - not a full bear-hug perhaps, but certainly a gentle stroke and a tickle. I definitely do not advise trying this with a wild one, though! On the other hand, if they are tame, and trust you, hedgehogs don’t erect their spines and you can handle them quite easily. Ones I have had that were orphaned and became very tame, would be quite happy to be picked up and even purr, and seemed to enjoy being chased under the furniture when they would squeak delightedly. Hissing, though, is a sign of fright or anger, so it is as well to become familiar with their “language” as they are quite vocal.

The hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus used to be a common mammal in Britain but has been in worrying decline for many years. When I was a boy, longer ago now than I like to recall, they were common and we regularly saw them in summer, often with young.  We are fortunate to have them still in our Worcestershire garden but in the wider countryside, intensive farming, pesticides, road kills, dogs and various predators, bonfires and barriers to travel for foraging are all problems that have exacerbated their decline.

Once more, our greenspaces can help to come to the rescue. We try to provide the varied semi-natural habitats that hedgehogs need, with plenty of places to shelter and hibernate, and we never use pesticides that would destroy their invertebrate food.  We also make sure any fences we put up or manage are “hedgehog-permeable” and we encourage residents to maintain gaps in their own fences so that hedgehogs can pass though on their often-lengthy nocturnal wanderings.  You can also help by observing our pets’ policy – keep dogs on leads and away from anywhere there may be hedgehogs and never let your cat out at night because they can and do kill baby hedgehogs.

For more information, there is a helpful site at http://bit.ly/2vxoskO and Hedgehog Street (https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/) has all kinds of initiatives for helping hedgehogs, including a survey to discover what is the best kind of “house” for them.

And just to answer a question often asked by ladies with a worried expression: no (hedgehog spines are soft at birth!).

Have a very Happy Valentine’s Day and send a little love to the hedgehogs.