Staff help needed to protect campus hedgehogs
Thursday, 02 December 2010
'What we are asking is that if anyone does find a hedgehog out and about - please contact me!'
The hedgehog is one of our most loved mammals, but recent evidence suggests that it is not fairing too well. So Dr Phil Baker of the School of Biological Sciences has recently started a project examining the ecology and behaviour of hedgehogs in and around the University's Whiteknights Campus and is asking for your help.
Dr Baker said: "Counts of dead hedgehogs on roads have indicated that the species may have declined significantly in some parts of the UK in the last ten years, and there is now renewed focus on identifying the possible causes.
"However, one habitat where they seem to be doing better than most is in urban areas, but even in this habitat there is still an awful lot that we don't know about hedgehog ecology and behaviour.
"Living in urban areas potentially poses a range of problems. We are all familiar with the risk posed by motor vehicles, but hedgehogs can also fall foul of domestic dogs, garden ponds and bonfires. Other issues include finding enough food, since their favourite foods are those often targeted by gardeners, finding somewhere safe and secure to breed and hibernate, and climate change, which could lead to them emerging prematurely from hibernation."
Therefore, in conjunction with students from the School of Biological Sciences, Dr Baker has been tagging and radio tracking hedgehogs on the University's Whiteknights Campus and in the surrounding residential suburbs. And this is where you can help
"Finding and marking hedgehogs is really the only way we can begin to understand the dynamics of urban populations. And at this time of year hedgehogs can sometimes be found wandering around during the day, when perhaps they should be fast asleep under cover.
"What we are asking, therefore, is that if anyone does find a hedgehog out and about is to get in contact with me so that we can either look to release the animal somewhere safe or to pass it onto colleagues at the RSPCA or St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital for treatment."
Please get in touch with Dr Baker if you come across any wandering hedgehogs on the Whiteknights campus:
Email: p.j.baker@reading.ac.uk
Mobile: 07980 717657