Conservation Status:Locally common
Hertfordshire: Under recorded, mainly road casualties.
Protection: Partially protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and may not be trapped without a licence from the Statutory Nature Conservation Organisation.
General Information: Commonly found in parks, gardens and farmland feeding along woodland edges and hedgerows. Their diet consists of invertebrates such as beetles, worms, caterpillars, slugs and snails. The young are usually born between April and September. During the Autumn, young hedgehogs need to achieve a weight of 450-680 grams (1-1.5 lbs) to be able to survive through the winter. Hibernation usually begins in November, ending around mid-March. The winter nest is usually made of leaves tucked under a bush, log pile or garden shed. Research has shown they can travel 1-2 km each night. Their average life expectancy is 2-3 years although they can live up to 10 years.
Threats: The main threat is habitat loss with the change from pastoral to arable crops over the last 30 years. The use of chemicals in gardens, such as slug pellets, can kill hedgehogs either directly or indirectly through eating poisoned food. Many are also killed on the roads or are faced with dangers in today’s tidy gardens.
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