The mammal has come under threat as humans destroy its habitat and kill off massive numbers of insects and invertebrates. The UK, for instance, has seen the population halved since the year 2000.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/S. Gerth
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Hedgehogs, Europe's only spiny mammals, are under threat due to a loss of habitat and food. The result has been declining reproduction, landing the creature on a range of endangered species lists.
The main drivers of the decline appear to be linked to the agricultural industry. Large-scale farming has deprived hedgehogs of their natural habitat as farmers remove copses of hedges and trees in order to make way for ever-larger crops.
Another problem is that of increasing pesticide use, which kills off the hedgehog's natural diet of insects and invertebrates such as worms and slugs.
Other threats to hedgehogs include increases in road construction as well as walls and fences that limit their ability to migrate, harming their long-term survival by greatly hampering mating options.
Saving baby hedgehogs in Germany
Unusual weather has led to an increase in sick and weak mature hedgehogs and babies. Fortunately, in Germany, there are organizations that care for hedgehogs and the animals' abandoned babies.
Hedgehogs are wild animals. They are found throughout Germany and protected by the Federal Nature Conservation Act. However, human care of hedgehogs is allowed when the animals are injured or sick, but they must be released back into the wild.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
Human care allowed
This year was a wet summer in Germany and a fall that often switched between unseasonably cold and unseasonably warm. As a result, there has been an increase in weak hedgehogs found that must be taken care of if they are to survive, according to the Association for Species and Biotope Protection in Bavaria.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Karmann
Late breeding
Due to unusual summer weather, hedgehog couples bred late this year. As a result, many baby hedgehogs are younger, smaller and more inexperienced this year. Baby hedgehogs quickly need to gain weight before winter in order to survive. Hedgehogs usually hibernate in nests from October to April. During mild winters they can be active until November or December.
A hedgehog that weighs less than 400 grams (slightly less than a pound) by autumn is unlikely to survive winter. A nocturnal animal, if a hedgehog that is found in the garden or on the street during the day is likely sick or hungry. Signs of an unhealthy hedgehog include low body temperature, slow or shaky movements, infection and loss of spines.
A number of organizations care for sick hedgehogs in Germany. Hedgehogs are omnivorous. Animal protection organizations may feed weak hedgehogs cat food, eggs or ground meat. Milk and sugary foods are not good for hedgehogs.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/C. Huetter
Baby hedgehogs left on their own
In autumn, orphaned baby hedgehogs can be found. They are usually provided milk by their mothers for up to six weeks. But if something happens to the mother, the blind and deaf baby needs help.
Image: picture-alliance/blickwinkel/L. Lenz
Rolling into a ball
Hedgehogs roll into a ball to protect themselves from predators. However, cars are currently one of the greatest threats to hedgehogs.
Image: picture-alliance/R. Bernhardt
60 million years of time on Earth
Hedgehogs can often be seen in gardens throughout Germany. They are nocturnal and have a good sense of smell and hearing. Hedgehogs have been living on Earth for nearly 60 million years, making them one of the oldest surviving mammals.
Image: picture-alliance/R. Bernhardt
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Backyard desertification
The loss of habitat is not limited to agricultural settings, however. Residential gardens have also become sparser in their design over the years. Manicured yards lacking bushes and hedges provide no space for hedgehogs to hide, nest, and hibernate.
Chemicals used in residential gardens add to the threat, as hedgehogs either eat the chemicals themselves, or eat slugs or snails that have ingested them.
The problem of sharply declining numbers of hedgehogs in the UK has gained notoriety thanks to a number of conservationist groups — such as the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society — and they have also won a well-known advocate in Brian May of the rock group Queen.
It is estimated that the number of hedgehogs in the UK has dropped from 30 million in the 1950s to about 1 million in 2019. More alarming still are estimates that the population has plummeted by half since the year 2000.
Hedgehogs have also been put on an alert list for endangered mammals in Bavaria.
Germany's wildlife hotspot
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Too much of a good thing
Hedgehogs, one of the world's oldest surviving mammals, live between two and five years, and breed between April and September, producing up to seven hoglets each year. In autumn, the nocturnal creatures actively work to put on fat to survive their winter hibernation.
Yet, a new problem has also come to the attention of conservationists, namely that of well-intentioned garden owners overcompensating for the loss of naturally occurring food. Such owners are overfeeding hedgehogs to such a degree that hedgehog obesity has become an issue, with some animals becoming so fat that they can no longer curl up into a ball to defend themselves.
