Hedgehogs eating
© British Hedgehog Preservation Society

The Icons of the Environment winner has always been one of Britain’s best-loved wild mammals. A member of the spiny Erinaceinae family, it can be found all over Europe in a variety of species, but no other nation has quite taken it to their hearts like we have, as is evident from the many comments received during the nomination and voting process.

Not the least reason the prickly creature is such a worthy Environment icon is that it is a superb natural pest controller. If you are lucky enough to be able to lure one into your garden, it will enthusiastically vacuum up insects and slugs, meaning that you won’t have to put down chemical pesticides such as slug pellets. Hedgehogs can be tempted with cat or dog food, but don’t expect to see them during the day. They are primarily nocturnal, and generally spend the daylight hours sleeping in dens that they dig for themselves.

The hedgehog’s diet shows great adaptability. As well as slugs and insects, they will happily crunch their way through snails and birds’ eggs, even helping themselves to whole fledglings from ground nests if other food is scarce.

For such an affectionately regarded animal, the hedgehog is a long way short of cuddly. Its most famous feature is one of the most effective forms of protection developed by any wild mammal, a mass of thick, sharp spines that make it a distinctly off-putting prospect for larger predatory carnivores. The spines are actually hollow hairs, which are stiffened with a fibrous protein called keratin.

At any sign of danger, the creature rolls itself into a ball, which generally proves highly effective. Exceptions come in the form of badgers, foxes (some of which have learned that urinating on a rolled hedgehog will quickly make it unroll and render itself vulnerable), and human beings armed with cars. In the latter case, there is evidence that in some areas, hedgehogs have begun to learn not to curl up in the paths of cars advancing on them on unlit country roads, but to run for their lives.

Rescue hedgehog © Mayuree Martin

Hedgehogs hibernate during the winter months, usually from around November onwards, depending on how cold it has become by then, and also whether the animal feels it has had enough sustenance to go into suspended animation. Any still seen pottering about towards Christmas will be particularly appreciative of food and water. Hibernation is not necessarily an uninterrupted sleep. An unseasonable spell of warm weather can cause it to break from its slumbers, as can prolonged heavy rain if it causes the winter nest to become waterlogged.

The creatures mate soon after emerging from hibernation. A very old joke puts the question, “How do hedgehogs make love?”, to which the answer of course is “Very carefully”. In fact, this is pretty much the truth of the matter. Courtship involves much circling around each other, accompanied by snuffling and grunting noises, until the female decides that this is an acceptable mate. She then flattens her body so that her spines are in a more or less horizontal position, so minimising the risk of injury to the male. This is the end of his involvement in the business, as he then leaves her to raise their young alone.

The hoglets, which like many mammals are born with their eyes shut, are spineless at first, but start to develop their white baby spines within a day or so. These are the equivalent of milk teeth, and will eventually be shed and replaced with adult spines. After being initiated into hunting skills by their mother, the young are self-sufficient within a few weeks. The hedgehog has a keenly developed sense of smell, which helps it to find food and compensates for its relatively feeble eyesight.

Hedgehogs enjoying apples
© British Hedgehog Preservation Society

In the wild, a hedgehog’s average life expectancy is around five years. It all depends on whether they can find enough food and withstand any extremes of cold weather in their youth. There are records of hedgehogs living up to 15 years, but this is very rare.

Sadly, their numbers are falling in the UK, through the combined effect of road deaths and the animals’ accidental ingestion of toxic slug pellets. You can help to halt their decline by providing them with a hospitable habitat in your back garden (although be aware that food left out should be made inaccessible to cats), and by supporting the work of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.