Just one in four of us come across hedgehogs regularly in our gardens according to a wildlife survey from the RSPB. That’s a drop of three percent on the previous year – showing that populations of our favourite mammals are still in steep decline. The charity asked 280,000 people to keep records about wildlife they saw in the garden over a year.
You've got more chance seeing a Fox in Your Garden than a Hedgehog?
The results included foxes for the first time, and showed there’s a 40% chance of seeing a fox in your garden at least once a month, especially if you live in a city. In fact, foxes were the second most commonly-spotted animal after the grey squirrel.
Make your garden more Hedgehog Friendly
Other wildlife, including badgers, slow worms, grass snakes and hedgehogs were seen less frequently this year than last. So take steps today to make your garden more inviting for hedgehogs (and other wildlife), as they need all the help they can get. Here are just a few:
- Make holes in the bottoms of walls and fences so they can roam easily
- Leave a corner of the garden wild
- Put ramps in ponds so hedgehogs can climb out
- Before lighting bonfires check whether there’s a hedgehog hibernating inside
- Watch out for hedgehogs when strimming long grass
- Visit hedgehogstreet.org and find out more