Hedgehog numbers may be stabilising in towns and cites, helped by routes through gardens.
Britain’s urban hedgehog populations are stabilising after decades of worrying decline, although numbers in the countryside are still falling, a new report has found.
Gaps under boundary fences, known as “hedgehog highways”, are being heralded as a key driver in this improvement for hedgehogs in cities and towns.
A hole at the base of a boundary fence will create a valuable, connected network of green space that hedgehogs can roam through. Whether it is a drilled hole in a wall or natural gap in an old wooden fence, highways help hedgehogs in their quest to find enough food and mates.
Hedgehogs disappeared
Urban and suburban areas have become busier and more dangerous for wildlife. Connected green space, such as these highways, increase hedgehog habitats and provide key refuges from pressures in the wider landscape, such as traffic.
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