Survey finds hedgehog sightings in UK on rise after years of decline

Hedgehog numbers may finally be on the rise after a survey found sightings of the tiny, spiky creatures in gardens had increased.

Readers of the magazine Gardeners’ World were asked to record the wildlife in their gardens and reported that sightings of hedgehogs had gone up by 2%.

Great news for the little spiny animals after the magazine’s previous annual survey had found them to be in decline.

According to last year’s reports, the hedgehog population had fallen by 30%-75% across the UK countryside since 2000, reports the Guardian.

Their decline in numbers in British gardens is thought to be caused by habitat loss and fragmentation – as hedgehogs like to travel around but walls and fences stop them from doing so.

There are also concerns that pesticides could be killing off the insects they eat as well as hedgehogs ingesting poisonous pellets left out for slugs and snails.

The survey, which is conducted annually by the magazine, asked respondents whether they had seen a hedgehog in their garden in 2023.

Last year, 33% of respondents reported they had seen a hedgehog in their garden compared to 31% the previous year.

When the respondents were asked how their sightings had changed from 2022, 21% said they had either seen them for the first time since they had then, or more often.

Recent campaigns have called for residents living in urban areas to leave their gardens ‘messy’ with longer grass, plants and logs for hedgehogs to nest and hunt for insects to eat.

British wildlife lovers have even been creating ‘hedgehog highways’ by making holes in the bottom of fences for the little creatures to be able to wander around.

Of those who took the survey, 77% said they had taken steps to make their gardens more wildlife friendly, including strimming less, avoiding the use of slug pellets and maintaining ‘messier’ more natural gardens.

In urban areas, 18% of respondents said they had seen hedgehogs in the last year, up 2.7% from 2022. While in rural areas, 43% of respondents had seen hedgehogs in their gardens – up 1% form the previous year.

Fay Vass, the CEO of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, said: “Valuable as the Gardeners’ World survey is, we need to remember that these figures are only a snapshot.

“Populations change year to year, and these findings might not necessarily represent the underlying trend.”

But, she said data in the State of Britain’s hedgehogs 2022 report – which BHPS published with the People’s Trust for Endangered Species – suggested that urban populations were just about stable and may even be beginning to recover in some areas.

Ms Vass continued: “Our ‘State of’ report is the most comprehensive overview of the UK’s hedgehog population and although the results give us cause for cautious optimism, urban populations are still much lower than they should be.

“Therefore it’s essential that we continue to gather more data to understand how these populations, and rural hedgehogs, are changing year on year and that community action – like making gardens havens for hedgehogs – continues.

“To help, become a Hedgehog Champion and make your garden as hedgehog-friendly as possible.”

Kevin Smith, editor of BBC Gardeners’ World, said: “It’s wonderful to witness an increase in sightings.

“Our ongoing efforts to educate people about wildlife-friendly gardening, such as creating openings in fences and providing secluded spaces for nesting and hibernation, are helping turn our gardens into the havens that hedgehogs have long enjoyed.”

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