Hedgehogs were a familiar sight, but we are seeing fewer of them every year. What are the leading causes for the drop-off in hedgehog numbers? The author summarises the growing body of research, and points towards solutions for reversing the decline.
The lastest figures from the State of Britain’s Hedgehogs report reveal that, since the turn of the century, the population of the mammal has declined by up to a third in urban areas and by at least 50% in rural areas. These figures, coupled with the annual decline of more than 3% in the data obtained from the ‘Living with Mammals’ survey, provide ample evidence of a species in trouble (Wembridge & Langton 2015).