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Orchard Vet's Blog
Hedgehog Awareness Week
09/05/2024
Organised by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) Hedgehog Awareness Week takes place once a year and aims to highlight the problems hedgehogs face. This year, HAW runs from the 5th May until the 11th.
Hedgehogs act as an important barometer for the health of our local environment – which is why it’s important that we take care of them!
When hedgehogs are thriving it’s reasonable to assume that other creatures will be too. All is well in the local environment. A thriving hedgehog population indicates a plentiful supply of invertebrates, good diversity of habitat and connectivity of the natural environment. These things are important to a whole range of wildlife, not just hedgehogs.
Did you know?
Hedgehogs can hibernate They root through hedges and other undergrowth in search of small creatures to eat and make a grunting sound similar to that of a pig/warthog They don't use their eyes to hunt, as their eyesight isn't very good. Instead, they use their hearing and smell Hedgehogs have over 5000 spikes There are 15 species of hedgehog in the world. The UK only has one native species, which is the European Hedgehog A group of hedgehogs is called an array, although it's very rare that you'll see them together Hedgehogs can swim and even climb trees!For more information on Hedgehog Awareness Week head to the BHPS website