• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

The Most Rescued Wild Animal In Britain Might Not Need Your Help

November 12, 2024 by Deborah Bloomfield

Animal rescue stories are some of the most popular on the internet, from adorable baby beavers to kittens with four ears. However, while the rescuers might have good intentions, “helping” can sometimes do more harm than good. Recent research into the UK hedgehog population has revealed the right times to step in to help our prickly friends, and when to leave well alone.

The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is a wild species native to the UK and widespread across much of Europe. In the fall months, the small mammals prepare to hibernate for the winter and stock up on worms and insects to build fat stores. Hedgehogs then spend much of the winter through to March and April curled up asleep avoiding the worst of the weather.

Advertisement

However, climate change has meant that more and more hedgehogs are seen later into the year, confusing the kind-hearted public about whether they need some help.

Hedgehogs are an incredibly well-known and favored British animal and as such, around 300 hedgehog rescue centers are present across Britain and the Channel Islands, according to a study from 2022. They are the most rescued wild animals in Britain.

However, capturing and transporting wild animals, even with good intentions, can cause further harm and stress to them. People have also been advised in the past to rescue hedgehogs themselves and keep them inside until the spring, especially when it comes to smaller hedgehogs – but this advice is now changing. 

Small hogs have been shown to be able to survive the winter months, and not always need “rescuing”. Some rescue centers will also keep hedgehogs over the winter, instead of releasing them in the colder months, meaning that they can miss the breeding season. 

Advertisement

While animals often need the help a center can provide, it can be the case that small hogs do not need to go to rescue centers and are therefore taking up beds that could be used for more severe cases.

a small gap in a garden fence made specially for wildlife to pass through

Alternative ways to help hedgehogs include incorporating wildlife-friendly garden measures like this hedgehog highway.

Image credit: Lois GoBe/Shutterstock.com

Step in when:

  • A hedgehog is visibly injured or seems unwell
  • A hedgehog looks visibly underweight with pointed shoulders or hips visible 
  • A hedgehog is out in the middle of the day in autumn with any of the above problems

Don’t step in when:

  • An active hedgehog with no injuries is wandering about at night 

Other ways to help include leaving a gap in your garden fence to allow safe hedgehog passage, leaving clean water out for hedgehogs and other creatures to drink from, and encouraging insects into your garden with wildflowers. Long grass, compost heaps, and log piles can also benefit all manner of creatures, as well as purpose-built hedgehog houses. 

It’s also important to be mindful of checking piles of leaves or bonfires before lighting them up too. 

If you are concerned about a hedgehog, use a towel to place the animal in a high-sided box and contact your nearest vet or animal sanctuary for advice. 

Advertisement

[H/T: The Conversation]

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. China Evergrande shares slide 6% in early trade
  2. Indonesia’s new carbon tax signals higher power costs amid calls for clarity
  3. Hangxiety: Why Might You Feel Anxious After Drinking Alcohol?
  4. 380-Million-Year-Old Fanged Fish Found In One Of The World’s Oldest Lakes

Source Link: The Most Rescued Wild Animal In Britain Might Not Need Your Help

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • Once-In-A-Decade Close Encounter With Hazardous Asteroid 2025 FA22 Approaches
  • With 229 Pairs, This Beautiful Animal Has The Highest Number Of Chromosomes Of Any Animal
  • “An Unimaginable Breakthrough”: Loudest-Ever Gravitational Wave Collision Proves Stephen Hawking Correct
  • Exciting Martian Mudstone Has Features That Might Be Considered Biosignatures
  • How Long Did Dinosaurs Live? “It’s A Big Surprise To People That Work On Them”
  • NASA’s Mysterious Announcement: “Clearest Sign Of Life That We’ve Ever Found On Mars”
  • New Brain Implant Can Decode Your Internal Monologue, Raising Fears Of Mind Reading
  • “Immediate, Sustained, And Devastating” Pain: The Most Venomous Mammal Packs An Extremely Nasty Sting
  • Domestic Cats Keeping Making Hybrids. That’s A Problem, And Yes – That Includes Some Pets
  • These Strange Little Lizards Have Toxic Green Blood, And No One Knows Exactly Why
  • How Does 2-In-1 Shampoo And Conditioner Work?
  • There Are 2-Billion-Year-Old “Millennium Rocks” In A Suburb, Hundreds Of Miles From Their Primeval Home
  • “That’s A Hellfire Missile Smacking Into That UFO”: Strange Video Emerges From US UAP Hearing
  • In 40,000 Years, Voyager 1 Will Have A Close Encounter With Gliese 445
  • Abnormally Long Gamma Ray Burst Unlike Anything We’ve Seen Before Baffles Astronomers
  • Critically Endangered Shark Meat Is Being Sold In US Stores For As Little As $2.99
  • Infectious Mouth Bacteria Lurking In Artery Plaques Could Be Behind Some Heart Attacks
  • What Would You Reach If You Kept Digging Under Antarctica?
  • First Visible Time Crystals Ever Made Have Astonishing Complexity And Practical Potential
  • “Something Undeniably Special”: The Chi Cygnids, A New Five-Yearly Meteor Shower, Peak This Month
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version