In Britain many hedgehogs are killed, injured or orphaned every day and the hedgehog population of the UK has dropped from around 30 million in the 1950s to around 1 million today. British hedgehogs are Red Listed and now officially classified as vulnerable to extinction.
Pickering Hedgehog Rescue is dedicated to caring for hedgehogs in the Pickering area of North Yorkshire.
Please ring before you bring a hedgehog. We run on a voluntary basis with public donations.
Bank details 54-41-24 51873273 Pickering Hedgehog Rescue.
Amazon Wish List https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/3G4U5Y3VOCKDJ?ref_=wl_share
THE GARDEN THAT KILLS AT NIGHTYour quiet back garden can become a fortress after sunset. For a starving animal waking from a long winter sleep, an unbroken fence is a slow death sentence.The Myth: "Hedgehogs thrive in enclosed, safe gardens."We often assume that keeping a hedgehog "fenced in" protects it from badgers or road traffic. We view our pristine, enclosed lawns as miniature sanctuaries, believing that a single garden provides everything a small mammal needs.The Scientific Reality: The Telemetry of NomadsIn spatial ecology, the European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is classified as a roaming insectivore. They do not hold or defend fixed territories. Instead, GPS telemetry studies reveal that they require massive home ranges—typically between 10 and 20 hectares in urban and suburban environments.To meet its intense caloric requirements, a single hedgehog must travel between 1 and 2 kilometres every single night, constantly foraging for beetles, caterpillars, and earthworms. When we replaced traditional, porous hedgerows with impermeable wooden fencing set on solid concrete gravel boards, we accidentally initiated mass habitat fragmentation. A sealed garden is an ecological island. Once the limited invertebrate prey within that island is consumed, the garden becomes a barren cell. This invisible imprisonment is a primary driver behind the catastrophic decline of the British hedgehog population, which has fallen by up to 75% in some rural areas and a third in urban areas since the year 2000.Seasonal Context: The Late-Winter ArousalWhy is this restriction exceptionally lethal right now?In late February, fluctuations in UK weather—the brief, mild "false springs"—trigger spontaneous arousals from hibernation. A hedgehog waking up right now is in a metabolic crisis. It has not eaten for months and has lost up to 30% of its body weight.Furthermore, the ground is often still too cold for high invertebrate activity. If a hedgehog wakes up in a completely sealed garden in February, it will exhaust the sparse food supply within hours. Unable to walk the 2 kilometres necessary to find enough dormant insects or supplementary feeding stations left out by other households, it will rapidly succumb to secondary hypothermia and starvation before spring even begins.Why This Matters EcologicallyThe hedgehog is a critical bioindicator of landscape connectivity. If a ground-dwelling mammal cannot traverse a neighbourhood, the ecosystem is fundamentally fractured. Their silent decline signals the broader collapse of terrestrial food webs and the over-sanitisation of our domestic landscapes. Predators hold systems together, and without these micro-predators, garden invertebrate populations fall out of balance.Your ActionThe 13-Centimetre Rule: You do not need to tear down your boundaries. You simply need to pierce them. Create a "Hedgehog Highway"—a hole exactly 13cm by 13cm (roughly the size of a CD case) at the base of your fence or wall.Link the Grid: A single hole only connects two gardens. Speak to your neighbours on all sides and ask them to cut a hole too.Avoid Netting: In late winter, ensure all loose garden netting (like pea netting) is raised at least 30cm off the ground. A desperate, roaming hedgehog can easily become fatally entangled in the dark.The VerdictNot every wall looks like a wall.Sometimes it is just a pristine fence line with no gap.A hedgehog can smell the next meal... and still never reach it.Leave one small passage, and you open up a world.Scientific references & evidenceDowding, C. V. et al. (2010). Nocturnal ranging behaviour of urban hedgehogs. Ecology and Evolution. (Definitive telemetry data proving the 1–2 km nightly travel distance and large home ranges).Hof, A. R. & Bright, P. W. (2009). The value of green spaces in built-up areas for western hedgehogs. Biological Conservation. (Analysis of habitat fragmentation and the necessity of inter-garden connectivity).British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) & People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES). The State of Britain's Hedgehogs. (Comprehensive population data detailing the 30% urban and 75% rural decline since 2000).Wroot, S. (1984). Feeding ecology of the European Hedgehog. (Calculations on the caloric deficit during hibernation arousal and the necessity of wide-ranging foraging). ... See MoreSee Less
One of my favourite hogs that came in late last year and was in a very bad way. Costello refused to eat and had to be syringe fed for several weeks. He eventually started to eat but would only eat dry kitten food. Here he is today, still only eating dry food. He has completely recovered from his internal parasites but is still with us because he had a fungal infection. He always used to watch me from under his blanket when I was in the rescue. Such a cutie! Sharon Allanson... See MoreSee Less
This is little Valentina. Found at someone’s front door during the day! She looked absolutely fine, not skinny, not staggering, but, poo sample shows Fluke, Lungworm and Roundworm. All too common especially at this time of year when food is so scarce. Hogs fill up on worms, slugs and snails. This is not their favourite food but they eat all three when there is nothing nicer available. Thank you to the finder for getting her Dad to bring little Valentina to the rescue and for the gift of food for her. ... See MoreSee Less
There was 111 videos of the hedgehogs last night! Rest assured I haven't uploaded them all. I put a couple of bricks in front of the feeding station last nig...
