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 Some baby hedghogs |
West End | News | Hedghogs | New-born | Regent's Park | Gardeners | BHPS | Nesting season | food and water
Spare a thought for our spiky friends
GARDENERS are being urged to mind their feet when doing the pruning so not to disturb new-born hedgehogs.
Regent’s Park and the surrounding area is a stronghold for the spiky mammals whose population is in free fall across London.
Gardeners are being asked to give garden sheds, piles of debris, hedgerows and compost heaps a wide birth until nesting season at the end of July. Experts fear hedgehogs could disappear from the capital altogether by 2025. The council is working with the Royal Parks and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) in Regent’s Park to try and boost their numbers.
It is estimated over half the hedgehogs in Westminster die in their first year, with few reaching beyond the age of three. Fay Vass, chief executive of the BHPS said: “We ask that gardeners look out for their spiky friends at this time of year, as nests can easily be disturbed accidentally and a stressed mother hedgehog may abandon or even kill her young.
“Providing a little meat-based pet food and fresh water every night will ensure ‘mum’ doesn’t have to go too far from the nest and will therefore encounter less danger.” |
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