Why are hedgehog numbers declining?

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You might have heard that hedgehog numbers in the UK are in free-fall - but is it true? And if so, what’s the cause? Phil investigates with help from hedgehog expert Dr Toni Bunnell.
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To learn more about the work of Toni Bunnell, be sure to visit her website where you can purchase a copy of her book ‘The Disappearing Hedgehog’:
tonibunnell.com/books-3/the-di...
Thank you to Alicia Leow-Dyke and Wendy Meredith for the badger footage. And thank you to Jean Thorpe for letting us film baby hedgehogs.
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We're a team of Conservation Biologists. We make videos about biodiversity, ecology and conservation. Check out our website ► ecosapien.org
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David’s Twitter ► / davidbodenham
Phil’s Twitter ► / greenunderwing
Arran’s Twitter ► / morano95
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Refs ►
Badger Trust. 2010. Badgers. From: badger.org.uk/media/41838/The%...
Battersby, J. (Ed) & Tracking Mammals Partnership. 2005. UK Mammals: Species Status and Population Trends. First Report by the Tracking Mammals Partnership. JNCC/Tracking Mammals Partnership, Peterborough. From: jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/pub05_uk...
BTO. 2015. British hedgehogs are in decline: different surveys tell the same story. From: www.bto.org/science/monitoring...
Bunnell, T. 2014. The Disappearing Hedgehog. From: tonibunnell.com/books-3/the-di...
DEFRA. 2013. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: BOVINE TB HOTSPOTS AND POPULATION SIZES
OF BADGERS AND FOXES. From: www.gov.uk/government/uploads...
Hedgehog Street. 2015. Hedgehogs in urban gardens. From: www.hedgehogstreet.org/pages/u...
Hedgehog Street. 2015. How many hedgehogs are left? From: www.hedgehogstreet.org/pages/h...
Huijser, M. P. and Bergers, P. J. M. 2000. The effect of roads and traffic on hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) populations. From: www.sciencedirect.com/science/...
Judge, Wilson, Macarthur, Delahay McDonald. 2014. Density and abundance of badger social groups in England and Wales in 2011-2013.
Scientific Reports 4, Article number: 3809. From: www.nature.com/articles/srep03809
PTES. 2015. Hedgehogs. From: ptes.org/campaigns/hedgehogs/#...
Warwick, H. 2014. Should we cull our badgers to save our hedgehogs? From: www.theecologist.org/blogs_and...
PTES. 2015. National Hedgehog Survey. From: ptes.org/get-involved/surveys/...
Roo, S. Johnston, A. and Noble, D. BTO. 2012. UK Hedgehog Datasets and their Potential for Long-Term Monitoring. BTO. From: www.bto.org/sites/default/file...
Vaughan, A. 2013. Hedgehog population in dramatic decline. From: www.theguardian.com/environmen...
Wembridge, D. (2011). The state of Britain’s hedgehogs. People’s Trust for Endangered Species, London, UK. From: www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/le...

Пікірлер: 30

  • @dkmc3320
    @dkmc33207 жыл бұрын

    I feed a Hedgehog every night in my garden, I have also put a lovely little Hedgehog sized Log Cabin for him to live in, which he is using. How exciting! :D

  • @aydenhodges831
    @aydenhodges8316 жыл бұрын

    Would love if there was more awareness for the hedgehogs and information like this so more people can see that they are declining.

  • @petercdowney
    @petercdowney7 жыл бұрын

    It's also worth noting that a badger's diet consists of mainly earthworms.

  • @happyharry8721

    @happyharry8721

    5 жыл бұрын

    Are you real I've seen them eat eggs,ground birds etc.

  • @aydenhodges831
    @aydenhodges8316 жыл бұрын

    It would be nice if there was more awareness for the hedgehogs and information like this so more people can see that they are declining.

  • @jane9875
    @jane98755 жыл бұрын

    ive started giving them water since i saw on e patheically licking a damp patch on the road during the heatwave

  • @EnigmaOK

    @EnigmaOK

    5 жыл бұрын

    they need water as much as they need food, especially the days they come out of hibernation, they will all be malnourished and dehydrated ,

  • @phoenixdragonlordgirl8748
    @phoenixdragonlordgirl87488 жыл бұрын

    Really enjoy your videos, always informative and teach you something new each time.

  • @jamescokl3
    @jamescokl3 Жыл бұрын

    Love these creatures and it's so saddening they are likely to disappear soon.

  • @jase123111
    @jase123111 Жыл бұрын

    Badgers can not be reason for the decline in urban areas as there are few if any of them in peoples gardens where the hedgehogs live. In the countryside they may have more on an impact... but they are going to be killing far less of them then the ones getting squashed on the roads there. Also the removal of hedgerows and huge mono crop fields mean there a lot less habitat for hedgehogs to live there and less food for them. In urban areas there is more traffic and more roads to kill them, and modern housing estates have fences that hedgehogs can't get through to travel from one garden to another, and less areas of greenery / nature for them to live.

  • @bensmusicworld
    @bensmusicworld3 жыл бұрын

    I wish it was us humans that are declining, not hedgehogs. 🦔

  • @bensmusicworld
    @bensmusicworld3 жыл бұрын

    I wish it was us humans that are declining not hedgehogs.

  • @jamescokl3
    @jamescokl3 Жыл бұрын

    Ban slug pellets and neighbours fences that touch the ground.

  • @caesar7734
    @caesar77342 жыл бұрын

    ❤️🦔

  • @BNCA70
    @BNCA705 жыл бұрын

    Badgers are the reason all the hedgehogs have gone. Badgers numbers have soared in parallel with the disappearance of hogs. Badgers are the only animal that can attack and open up a curled up hedgehog because of its lengthy front claws. In rural England badgers are allowed to run amok because the 'glitteratti do-gooders' in the media think they're cute so we're not allowed to cull them. . Hedgehogs were cute too, pity you didn;t get on your moral soapbox about them. Pleeeeeeeeeeeease stop blaming strimmers and traffic, here in rural England its the huge numbers of badgers that have wiped them out.

  • @EnigmaOK

    @EnigmaOK

    5 жыл бұрын

    have you any evidence? or is it just based on your assumption due to the increase in Badger numbers, which is doubtful anyway, check KZread, i believe you will see Badgers not being keen to share food with Hedgehogs which would be very normal as Badgers and Hedgehogs have the same diets but not preying on them, i also live in rural England and have not seen any increase in Badger numbers over the last decade, some years there is an increase other years there is a decline, which i see as a steady population, i have put this down to mainly food availability, Worms Beatles insects fruit and how cold the winters are, Badgers also prey on rodents, rats/mice and even dead or dying animals birds, Man clearly is the problem,

  • @happyharry8721

    @happyharry8721

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@EnigmaOK yep so top yourself and give wildlife a chance.

  • @EnigmaOK

    @EnigmaOK

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@happyharry8721 The reason man is to blame are motor vehicles..

  • @happyharry8721

    @happyharry8721

    5 жыл бұрын

    @@EnigmaOK habitat loss and badger predation.

  • @areyouawake-2532

    @areyouawake-2532

    4 жыл бұрын

    My dad said about slug pellets! If they are poisoning slugs are they poisoning the hedgehogs? I used to see load in my town and most of the time run over! I haven't seen any for about 10 years atleast

  • @hedgehog6912
    @hedgehog69125 жыл бұрын

    how is the salvation of the hedgehogs?

  • @areyouawake-2532
    @areyouawake-25324 жыл бұрын

    What about slug pellets? If they poison the slugs are they poisoning the hedgehogs?

  • @wendemaunder2659

    @wendemaunder2659

    3 жыл бұрын

    YES!

  • @jote2275
    @jote22753 жыл бұрын

    Sadly i've heard that new zealand wants to get rid of them all! 😪😥

  • @EcoSapien

    @EcoSapien

    3 жыл бұрын

    Unfortunately the European hedgehog is an invasive species in New Zealand, introduced by European settlers. They prey on endemic and endangered species.

  • @jote2275

    @jote2275

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@EcoSapien Maybe they should import badgers 😁

  • @EcoSapien

    @EcoSapien

    3 жыл бұрын

    @@jote2275 think you know why that wouldn't be good!