2019
The Gazen Salts Hedgehogs
In May 2021, Gazen Salts Nature Reserve welcomed its first hedgehogs – a welcome development made possible by Hedgehog Rescue Deal, whose Stan Brittain also built and donated nest boxes for the new arrivals. And they have adapted to the Reserve far more quickly than anyone thought.
Hedgehogs have been around long before humans walked on the earth but have changed little over the past 15 million years. In 1566, a bounty of tuppence was placed on hedgehogs by Parliament allowing farmers to kill them because it was believed they fed on the teats of recumbent cows. This move led to the deaths of an estimated half a million hedgehogs by 1800. Fortunately, such myths no longer delude us. Yet, sadly, hedgehog numbers are now in serious decline. In 2020, the British hedgehog was placed on the Red List for British Mammals, classified as vulnerable to extinction.
During the day of the Gazen hedgehogs’ introduction, a team of volunteers with three wardens sited nest boxes and feeding stations into select hidden areas. The spots were chosen to be above flood level and well away from areas of ground-nesting birds. In the evening four hedgehogs - two males, and two females - were released.
It was originally planned to replenish the feeding stations up until the end of June. However, by the end of the week it was pleasing to discover that the hoggies had returned to the wild far more quickly than anticipated.
Hedgehogs are invaluable for maintaining a heathy, balanced natural environment. It is hoped that a viable population of hedgehogs will soon be flourishing in the Gazen Salts Nature Reserve.
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