Wildlife Photography

Did you hear?

about the crocodiles who had been relocated from one part of Australia to another? The crocs had all been tagged, and the scientists were stunned to discover the crocs had all taken a disliking to their new home and headed back to their old home a couple of hundred miles away within 2 or 3 weeks! Want to help reptiles? How about helping adders?

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Help the hedgehog

The hedgehog needs our help!

The report called "The State of Britain's Hedgehogs 2011" made for alarming reading. It told us that the hedgehog has reduced by The British Hedgehog Preservation Society and the People's Trust for Endangered Species have joined forces to try to find out more about the decline and crucially to help stop it.

Urban landscapes are becoming more important to the hedgehog; so these two charities have launched Hedgehog Street, to encourage people in urban areas to join forces and do what they can to help these comical animals.

Useful resources:

Visit the British Hedgehog Preservation Society

Join Hedgehog Street

Hogwatch - tell them of your hedgehog sightings

Go to the People's Trust for Endangered Species

Reasons for the hedgehog's decline & steps you can take to help stop it:

A loss of hedgerows and rough field edges - there are fewer foraging areas close to field edges. You can sponsor hedgerows with organisations such as the RSPB to help them create more hedgerows as gifts for hedgehog lovers. Plus the Woodland Trust has a tree-mendous gift called "The hedge fund - with guaranteed results". The hedge fund provides shelter and plentiful food and helps the Woodland Trust us to plant 10m of hedgerow - the perfect hedgehog home!
Pesticides have killed off many insects, the food supply for hedgehogs. If you find a hedgehog, put out some cat and dog food rather than bread and milk - the latter isn't good for a hedgehog's tummy
A loss of suitable gardens in urban areas. Our gardens are too tidy, paved over and too cut off from each other so that hedgehogs can't go from one to another. So one free step you can take is to leave your garden in a mess - or some of it, anyway. You can also build a hedgehog home or buy one. The RSPB & Garden Bird both sell hedgehog homes.

Read the Hogwatch Hedgehog information sheet which has some wonderful tips on helping hedgehogs in your garden - click here to download it - including how to make sure a hedgehog won't drown in your garden pond

For Hedgehog gifts for hedgehog lovers, visit

PTES
British Hedgehog Preservation Society
The RSPB
Garden Bird

Give 10 metres of hedgerow to help hedgehogs to a hedgehog lover
Go to the RSPB

Join hedgehog surveys

You can also help with surveys - they are vital because they can identify problems with wildlife numbers while there is still time to take action to help them. The PTES has surveys you can join in with, and you can also download Mammals on Roads iphone App.

Take part in Hogwatch, the nationwide survey of hedgehogs. It aims to create a map of the distribution of hedgehogs across the UK. Hedgehogs are more likely to be found in some areas than others, so whether you see a hedgehog in your garden or while out and about, let Hogwatch know about it.

Finally, if you really want to get active for hedgehogs, you could also consider becoming a hedgehog carer