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A hedgehog sits on a track near Hanover-Wuelferode, central Germany, on August 12, 2012. To protect their body, hedgehogs have around 5,000 spines on average.
‘The once-common hedgehog is now under threat from development and habitat loss.’ Photograph: Julian Stratenschulte/AFP/Getty Images
‘The once-common hedgehog is now under threat from development and habitat loss.’ Photograph: Julian Stratenschulte/AFP/Getty Images

UK's first hedgehog conservation area planned

This article is more than 9 years old

Reserve in Solihull, West Midlands aims to reverse population decline in the prickly animal due to habitat loss

A project to create the UK’s first dedicated hedgehog conservation area is being launched, as part of efforts to reverse declines in populations of the prickly creature.

A “hedgehog improvement area” is being established in Solihull, West Midlands, centred on a 90 hectare (220 acre) reserve for hedgehogs, which are under threat nationally from development and the loss of hedgerows and other habitat.

Warwickshire Wildlife Trust’s scheme, funded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, will also work with the local community to raise awareness of the animals’ plight and bring in hedgehog-friendly measures such as small holes in their fences.

Surveys of the hedgehog population will also be carried out, with residents trained and encouraged to conduct surveying in their own gardens using hedgehog footprint tunnels and remote wildlife cameras loaned by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust.

The reserve will incorporate the Trust’s Elmdon Manor nature reserve and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s Elmdon Park. A group of volunteer “wildlife guardians” will manage the area to help boost the population of hedgehogs.

Simon Thompson, hedgehog officer for Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, will design, plan and deliver the population surveys, which will help monitor the scheme’s effectiveness, as well as carrying out habitat improvements and working with communities.

He said: “Something as basic as linking up a series of small isolated green patches with a hole no bigger than the size of a CD is a remarkably powerful and positive action for hedgehog conservation.

“Making these connections between our own fenced-in islands of green spaces creates a continuous habitat corridor through which hedgehogs can forage, seek shelter and even rendezvous with potential mates.”

Stephen Trotter, The Wildlife Trusts’ director for England, said: “The once-common hedgehog is now under threat from development and habitat loss caused by loss of hedgerows and intensification of our agricultural landscape.

“Combined, our gardens provide a space for wildlife larger than all our National Nature Reserves, so by gardening in a wildlife-friendly way we can all help our spiny companions to find a home and move safely between habitats to find mates and food.”

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