The Wild Watch needs you!

Help us find out how many  hedgehogs we have and where they live in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Why hedgehogs?

Hedgehogs are declining at an alarming rate. It is estimated that half of the UK’s rural population has been lost in less than 20 years. Hedgehogs are being lost from the countryside at a faster rate than in the cities due to agricultural intensification, road kill and predation.

How you can help!

If you see a hedgehog, let us know!  Email us at [email protected], with the subject line ‘Hedgehog Watch’. Please tell us the date, time and location (grid ref or postcode) of the sighting, and if the hedgehog is alive, dead or roadkill.

You can also pick up one of our ‘Hedgehog Watch’ postcards from local shops, pubs, doctors and post offices around the AONB and return it Freepost.

What happens next?

Your record will be added to our hedgehog database.  All the data will be explored in the use of habitat suitability modelling to see where our hedgehogs are choosing to live. This in turn will inform conservation management planning.

We’ll send on our data to the North and East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre and public National Biodiversity Network. All the records we receive will be included in national databases to be used by future researchers and conservationists aiming to understand the conservation status and distribution of hedgehogs in the Nidderdale AONB.

So, rest assured that the data collected will be put to maximum use and will build up a baseline of hedgehog records in the area which will be used when making future decisions affecting our wildlife and environment.

What else can you do to help hedgehogs?

• Create hedgehog homes by stacking up logs or piling up leaves and brash.
• Cut a hole the size of a CD case in the bottom of your fence or wall to create a hedgehog highway. If we link up surrounding land then we can increase the connectivity of hedgehog populations and increase their numbers.
• Put out water and food (they like cat food) for hungry hedgehogs coming out of hibernation.
• Check thoroughly for hedgehogs before using power tools in the garden or lighting bonfires.
• Slow down on roads, especially between dusk and dawn when hedgehogs are active.
• Visit www.hedgehogstreet.org for plenty of useful resources.