'Watch out before lighting your bonfires,' hedgehog carers warn

Sunday 30 October 2011

THE Help a Hedgehog Hospital in Brimscombe is urging householders to be vigilant before lighting bonfires this month.

Woodpiles make ideal places for hedgehogs to sleep and raise their families in and recently a mother with a litter of autumn juveniles hoglets were found while a bonfire was being dismantled before it was rebuilt elsewhere in the garden.

"Had they not been discovered they would have perished in the fire," said hedgehog carer John Crowther.

"Ideally the entire pile should be re-sited before being lit.

"If this is not possible the base of the pile should be examined carefully using a torch or better still it should be lit the same day it is built before a hedgehog has had chance to move in."

Help a Hedgehog Hospital held an awareness event in Stratford Park on Sunday, October 18 to highlight the plight of hedgehogs. More than £400 was raised to enable the hospital to buy food and medication for many of the sick and injured animals in its care.

In addition, Alicia Dembny took part in the recent horseless event at Badminton and raised £150.

Another awareness day is being held in Bussage Village Hall from 10am until 2pm on Sunday, November 20 - come along and meet the hedgehogs.

For more details call 01453 886424 or go to www.helpahedgehog.org

http://www.westerntelegraph.co.uk/archive/2011/10/30/News+%28snj_news%29/9332789._Watch_out_before_lighting_your_bonfires____hedgehog_carers_warn/

Check your bonfire for hedgehogs

Piles of leaves can look like a good home
October 2011: People are being urged to remember hedgehogs during the bonfire season.

The Leatherhead-based Wildlife Aid Foundation says that if you are burning leaves or garden debris over the coming months, you should take extra care not to injure any hedgehogs or put them at risk.

Particular care should be taken if you are planning to build a big bonfire for Guy Fawkes Night.

The hedgehog population of the UK is falling rapidly and could face extinction. The Wildlife Aid Foundation believes every effort must be made to protect those hedgehogs that remain. Autumn and winter can be a particularly dangerous time of year for these creatures.

Putting hedgehogs at risk‘Burning garden rubbish or building a bonfire for November 5th puts hedgehogs at great risk,' explains Wildlife Aid Foundation director Simon Cowell. ‘People should be extremely careful, and should always watch out for hedgehogs.'

He adds: ‘Bonfire Night is a big danger as hedgehogs will always curl up and nest inside any pile of leaves or garden debris if it looks warm and inviting.

‘Ideally, you should move or turn over the entire pile of leaves, just to be extra certain. And double check any bonfire just before you light it.'

Bitter winter weather poses another risk to hedgehogs. When they hibernate their body temperature can fall to just a few degrees above freezing and their heart rate slows. They depend on their body fat to survive.

Cars are main reason behind Britain's hedgehog declineThe Wildlife Aid Foundation takes in hundreds of sick, injured and orphaned hedgehogs every year and if they are underweight the Foundation keeps them in its wildlife hospital in Leatherhead throughout the winter, giving them their only chance of survival.

The decline in the UK's hedgehog population is very serious, says Simon. ‘In 1950 there were estimated to be more than 30 million hedgehogs in Britain. Now, due mostly to the huge number of roads and cars we have in this country, the hedgehog population is down to about one million, and possibly a lot less.

‘If we don't intervene to help the hedgehog wherever and whenever we can, this most thoroughly British of all wild animals could be extinct in the next two decades.'

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/hedgehog-bonfire2011.html

Red squirrel and hedgehog under threat, study says

Red squirrel and hedgehog populations in the UK have continued to fall over the last decade, a report suggests. The 2011 State of Britain's Mammals study says the species are still under threat despite efforts to protect them.

But it says conservation schemes have benefited otters, polecats and water voles and half of the monitored species have stable or rising populations.

Read on...

Hedgehogs could be extinct in 15 years, warns zoologist Dr Toni Bunnell

Dr Bunnell claims the number of hedgehogs in Britain has decreased by 25 per cent over the last 10 years.
The causes she lists for this decline include pesticides eliminating scores of caterpillars and beetles - insects that hedgehogs feed on - as well as mowing, being caught in netting and fences and even drowning in garden ponds as they make their way from one garden to the next looking for food.
As they tend to share their habitats with predatory badgers in rural areas of the UK, the pricklier of the species is losing out.

Dr Bunnell's studies have also found that the hogs were being run over by vehicles at a rate of 50,000 a year.

This research comes at a time when red squirrels, natterjack toads and cuckoos have all been tipped to become extinct within the next five to ten years if current trends continue.

However, Dr Bunnell, who runs a hedgehog sanctuary in Holgate, said hedgehog number could be preserved by using wildlife-friendly slug pellets as opposed to pesticides, and providing the creatures with food and water.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/872284-hedgehogs-could-be-extinct-in-15-years-warns-zoologist#ixzz1V0LQXJ1A

Bald hedgehog faces pointless existence in Yarmouth

The rescue centre will continue to care for Betty if she does not develop spikes

1 June 2011

A hedgehog is facing a life in captivity due to a mystery condition that has left it without spines.

Six-week-old Betty was handed into Foxy Lodge Wildlife Rescue in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, in August last year.

Ten months on it is feared she may never go back into the wild because the spines that grew fell out, making her prone to predators.

"The only way it can protect itself is with its spikes," said John Garner from the wildlife centre.

"She's currently got one or two little spikes but they get to a couple of millimetres long and then they just fall out.

Excluded by others

"Even if she made it until the winter when it's hibernation time she just wouldn't survive because the spikes are a type of hollow hair which gives them warmth as well."

It is believed the problem is a genetic disorder.

Betty's lack of spines means she cannot spend too long in the sun and she has also become frightened of other hedgehogs after many in the centre excluded her.

It is hoped Betty will eventually grow her spines back, but if she does not the shelter said it would continue to home her.

"Unfortunately, unless she gets her spikes she will live her days out with us. It's a shame but she is well treated here," said Mr Garner.

It is not the first time a bald hedgehog has turned up to the centre, prompting fears there could be a family with the condition in the town.

In 2009 a hedgehog with a similar condition was taken to Foxy Lodge but died soon after.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-13608368
(Submitted by Liz R)

Council paints lines over dead hedgehog

Friday, August 13 2010, 12:12 BST
By Mayer Nissim, Entertainment Reporter

A local council has been criticised after its workers painted a double yellow line over the body of a dead hedgehog.

The new road markings had been painted on the streets in Hartlepool, County Durham, ahead of the three-day Tall Ships Races festival, Sky News reports.

Allison Hart, 37, said: "I couldn't believe it when I saw the hedgehog - it's disgraceful.

"Workmen spent the day knocking on doors to get people to move their cars so they could draw the yellow lines.

"All they had to do was kick it with their foot so it was out of the way and then put it in a plastic bag and move it."

A Hartlepool Borough Council spokeswoman said: "Contractors have done a phenomenal amount of line painting in and around the town in preparation for the Tall Ships Races.

"They have done an exceptional job. This is obviously an unfortunate incident, but it was the only one reported during the massive project."

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/odd/news/a260920/council-paints-lines-over-dead-hedgehog.html?rss

With a broken leg over a Bank Holiday weekend, you'd be feeling a bit spiky too

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:28 AM on 4th May 2010

Any little girl with a broken leg might be slightly cheered up with a pink cast. But this tiny female patient is not letting her emotions show to those looking after her.

She is currently a guest of staff at St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Buckinghamshire.

The young hedgehog was discovered in a back garden in Northampton with a broken front right leg and pelvis.

Nurses at the hospital have put her leg in plaster and hope she will make a full recovery in six weeks.

Hedgehog Awareness Week runs until May 8 this year. The annual event aims to highlight the problems hedgehogs face in their shared environment with humans.

As with most small animals living around humans, cars pose the biggest threat to hedgehogs. Many are run over as they attempt to cross roadways.

Being nocturnal, a hedgehog snoozing in the garden can also fall victim to lawn mowers, trimmers and other gardening equipment. Another common human-related fatality is pesticides.

In 2006, fast-food chain McDonald's changed the design of its McFlurry containers because hedgehogs would get their heads stuck in the container as they tried to lick the remaining food from inside the cup.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1271080/Tiny-patient-broken-leg-highlights-Hedgehog-Awareness-Week.html#ixzz0mxVH521W

Mammals feature on new Royal Mail stamps

Click to enlarge

http://e-edition.metro.co.uk/2010/04/13/ - p8.

The new faces of Royal Animail: New stamp collection featuring Britain's at-risk mammals is released

The new faces of Royal Animail: New stamp collection featuring Britain's at-risk mammals is released

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:02 AM on 13th April 2010

Next time you post a letter, you can send it by first class hedgehog - or polecat, if there's a rush. The little creatures star in the latest series of Royal Mail stamps, released today. The series, which highlights Britain's declining mammal population, also features dormice, bats, otters, humpback whales and sperm whales, and water voles (better known as Ratty from the Wind in the Willows).

According to the Mammal Society, many of the species are in danger after losing their habitat to farming, pollution, growth in roads and housing. The collection is the fourth in Royal Mail's Action For Species series, which has previously featured birds, insects and plants. Royal Mail head of special stamps, Julietta Edgar, said the images were designed to deliver 'an important conservation message through millions of letter boxes'.



Paul Wilkinson of The Wildlife Trusts, a group of charities which focus on habitat conservation, said: 'Many are enthused and inspired by imagery of these creatures; sleeping dormice, sleek otters and the adorable water vole.
'But some may not be aware of the work which goes on behind the scenes to ensure there is adequate and suitable habitat for them.' The Mammal Society said Britain and its coastline is home to more than 60 species of mammals and while many are thriving, others have seen their populations decline. Even the seemingly prevalent hedgehog has seen a fall in numbers.



The series of stamps has been released to coincide with the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) - a United Nations conservation initiative.



Dr Robert Bloomfield, UK co-ordinator of the IYB, said: 'These stamps illustrate that even some of the most loved UK species, which we consider common or familiar, are under threat.





'Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1265474/Royal-Mail-releases-stamps-featuring-Britains-risk-mammals.html#ixzz0kyKks7xp

Wildwood hosts Countryfile

RIGHT: John Craven and Peter Smith. Photo: Wildwood.

Countryfile have been filming (Tuesday 30th March 2010) at Wildwood, Kent's award winning woodland discovery park for a programme to be aired on Sunday 11th April 2010.

The programme being filmed was dealing with the disappearing species of the UK, and will feature a Wildwood hedgehog and pine marten.

John Craven came to the park especially to do the filming and Wildwood has featured a number of times on Countryfile.

Hugh Warwick who has written a book recently "A Prickly Affair - My life with Hedgehogs" was interviewed with a hedgehog, Tony Mitchell-Jones of Natural England was filmed with the pine martens all to illustrate the fact that many species are in danger of disappearing.

RIGHT: John Craven and hedgehog. Photo: Wildwood.

"Wildwood is a great resource for this type of filming" commented Peter Smith Chief Executive of Wildwood Trust "There are animals here that would take a film crew a long time to get good shots of and it gives us the opportunity to let people know about the work we do"

A huge range of British animals can be seen at the Wildwood Discovery Park , for more information visit the website at www.wildwoodtrust.org/ or telephone 01227 712111.

Wildwood is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. Wildwood offers its members and visitors a truly inspirational way to learn about the natural history of Britain by actually seeing the wildlife that once lived here, like the wolf, beaver, red squirrel, wild boar and many more.

Wildwood is situated close to Canterbury , just off the A291 between Herne Bay and Canterbury. For more information visit our website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 01227 712111.

Hedgehog Facts

The Hedgehog - Erinaceus europaeus

Recognition: Unmistakeable, the only spiny British mammal. Head/body length: 150-300mm, depending on age, tail about 10-20mm. Weight: Up to 2kg, heaviest in autumn.

General Ecology: The hedgehog is common in parks, gardens and farmland throughout mainland Britain and Ireland. It has also been introduced to many islands including Orkney, Shetland, Isle of Man and some of the Channel Islands. Hedgehogs prefer woodland edges, hedgerows and suburban habitats where there is plenty of food for them. Intensively farmed arable land is probably a poor habitat, as are moorlands and dense conifer forests. They eat beetles, worms, caterpillars, slugs and almost anything they can catch, though little plant material. They will take eggs and chicks of ground-nesting birds though rarely in large numbers and far fewer than foxes or crows.

Females have litters of 4-5 young (sometimes more), between April and September. Males do not assist in rearing them. Young born late often die, being too small to survive hibernation. They need to weigh at least 450g (1lb.) or they are not fat enough to last the winter. Hibernation usually begins about November and ends around Easter, but is much affected by the weather. Hedgehogs normally wake up several times over winter and often build a new nest. In the spring they commonly spend a few days active then enter hibernation again during a cold snap. The winter nest ("hibernaculum") is made of leaves, tucked under a bush or log pile or garden shed, anywhere that offers support and protection.

Hedgehogs travel about 1-2km each night, males more than females. They return to the same daytime nest for a few days then use another, perhaps returning to an old nest at a later date. Hedgehogs live for up to 10 years, but this is exceptional; over half die before their first birthday and average life expectancy is about 2-3 years. Hedgehogs carry several diseases, but none that are dangerous to humans. They carry a specific flea, which they sometimes pass to dogs, but do not carry the usual cat and dog fleas, which bite humans.

Conservation: Hedgehogs are partially protected under the Wildlife & Countryside Act and may not be trapped without a licence from Natural England, the Countryside Council for Wales or Scottish Natural Heritage.

The biggest threat to hedgehogs is probably habitat loss, with the change from pastoral farming to arable crops, over the last 30 years. The use of chemicals in gardens and for intensive farming kills the creatures hedgehogs need for food and may also poison them directly. Many are also killed on the roads. Hedgehogs may become locally scarce or even disappear, but nationwide extinction is unlikely. Nevertheless, hedgehogs appear to be in decline. The total population is unknown.

Hedgehogs survive well in gardens, particularly assisted by food put out for them. This should be encouraged because modern tidy gardens may not otherwise provide sufficient food. Gardens are also hazardous. Strimmers (cutters with a rotating strip of cord) cut back rank vegetation in the very places hedgehogs lie up during the day, causing serious wounds to the sleeping animals. Hedgehogs hibernate under garden bonfire heaps. These should always be turned over before being burnt. Hedgehogs swim well but easily drown in smooth-sided garden ponds, being unable to escape from them. Ponds (and swimming pools) should have a piece of chicken wire dangling into the water to help the animals climb out. Garden netting is also dangerous unless staked down tightly to avoid hedgehogs becoming entangled.

Pine Marten Facts

The Pine Marten - Martes martes

RIGHT: Pine Marten. Photo: James Killick.

Recognition: Dark brown fur; yellow/white throat patch; long fluffy tail; about the size of a small cat. Head/body length: males 51-54cm; females 46-54cm; Tail length: males 26-27cm; females 18-24cm. Weight: males 1.5-2.2kg; females 0.9-1.5kg.

General Ecology: Pine martens are found in the Scottish Highlands and Grampian, with isolated populations in southern Scotland. In England and North Wales pine martens seem to be on the verge of extinction although there may still be isolated individuals present in Northumberland and North Yorkshire. Pine martens are widespread and relatively common in Ireland, where they have recovered well from presecution.

Although they occur in a wide range of habitats, pine martens prefer well-wooded areas with plenty of cover. Marten dens are commonly found in hollow trees or the fallen root masses of Scots pines, an association that probably earned pine martens their name; cairns and cliffs covered with scrub are frequently used as alternative den sites.

Martens have a very varied diet, which changes with the seasonal availability of different foods. Small rodents are a very important food, but birds, beetles, carrion, eggs and fungi are also eaten. In autumn, berries are a staple part of the diet. Martens mostly hunt on the ground, although they are superb climbers and can climb with great agility.

Martens have territories that vary in size according to habitat and food availability. For males these are about 10-25 square kilometres and for females about 5-15 square kilometres. Martens mark their territories with faeces (known as scats) deposited in places where they are conspicuous to other martens; they are frequently left along forestry trails.

Young martens are born blind and hairless, in litters of 1-5, in early spring and stay with their mothers for about six weeks. Their eyes open at the end of May and by mid-June they begin to emerge from their den. Male martens play no direct part in rearing the young. Pine martens have lived up to 17 years in captivity, but in the wild most probably die before they are eight years old.

Conservation: Martens and their dens are fully protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981); martens must not be trapped, sold or disturbed except under licence from Scottish Natural Heritage, the Countryside Council for Wales or Natural England. Despite this legal protection, poisoned baits and traps, often set for hooded crows and foxes, still probably account for many marten deaths each year. Others are also shot at hen houses, and some are killed when mistaken for mink.

Until the 19th Century, pine martens were found throughout much of mainland Britain, the Isle of Wight and some of the Scottish islands. Habitat fragmentation, persecution by gamekeepers and martens being killed for their fur, drastically reduced this distribution. By 1926, the main pine marten population in Britain was restricted to a small area of north-west Scotland, with small numbers in N Wales and the Lake District. Martens have now increased their range in Scotland, and now occur throughout the Highlands, N of the Central Belt. A small population introduced to Galloway in the 1980s also seems to be spreading. slowly. It is not known whether their populations in England and Wales are expanding, or even if they still exist. The pine marten remains one of the rarest native mammals in Great Britain, with a total population of around 3-4,000, but Ireland probably also has as many.

Prime habitats for pine martens seem to be well wooded areas, with high densities of voles that are their principal prey. Female pine martens with young are extremely sensitive to human disturbance, which can cause a female to move her young from a den or even eat them. Foxes also seem to be a threat to young martens, and dens or scree have the advantage of being safe from them.

Increased forestry and enlightened estate management are likely to help pine martens recolonise their former haunts in the future. In areas where pine martens currently occur, practical management methods may also assist survival. Important measures that can be taken are planting connections between suitable habitats to prevent further fragmentation; creation and maintenance of cover particularly along streams, to provide travel routes and shelter and management of habitats for voles and other food items.

Reintroductions of martens to England have been suggested but a greater understanding of martens is needed before these should be attempted. More detailed studies of the distribution and numbers of the populations in northern England and Wales and the reasons for their apparent recent decline are required.

Hedgehogs, heroes of the garden

RIGHT - Hugh Warwick: "I looked into his eyes. It was then that I got a sense of his genuine wildness"

Hedgehogs are far from exotic – but we should treasure these spiny creatures, says Hugh Warwick

Wednesday, 31 March 2010

In the beginning, there was a hedgehog called Nigel. I can remember the exact moment we met. It was 1993, and I was doing a research project for the RPSCA in which I was studying the behaviour of hedgehogs in the wild after they had spent time in captivity. I was based in a field on the border of Devon and Somerset, and was monitoring the mammals' movements using radio tagging – attaching miniature transmitters to their spines – and noting their progress. It involved living on my own in a caravan in the middle of nowhere, but it kick-started my love of these tiny insectivores.

In the middle of one night, I had finished work at 4am. My only water source was outside, so I needed to get up to venture into the night to clean my teeth. That was when I first saw Nigel. He was snuffling around outside, and I recognised him immediately. I'd first met him several weeks earlier during the tagging progress, and was immediately struck by his speed, so I decided to name him after the racing driver Nigel Mansell. I watched him for several minutes, and when he wandered off I followed him. After about an hour, he came to a halt, and I laid down opposite him. And then something strange happened. He looked up at me, and seemed to notice me for the first time. I looked into his eyes. It was then that I got a sense of his genuine wildness. It's not something that you experience very often. You never really get close to wild animals normally. And so began my love affair with these enigmatic, beautiful, eccentric creatures. From working with hedgehog preservation charity HogWatch, recording the current number of hedgehogs in the British Isles, to becoming a life member of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, hedgehogs began to captivate me.

Many people believe hedgehogs are ubiquitous in Britain, but in 2007 they were added to the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), a document compiled by more than 500 British wildlife experts and one of the most-respected reference sources on endangered wildlife. Nowadays, their population in this country is estimated to be as low as one million. This is a problem. In many ways I think hedgehogs hold the key to our nation's rediscovery of nature. Unlike wildlife charities' traditional "poster animals" – often called charismatic mega-fauna – like lions and whales, you can actually get close to hedgehogs. They are a gardener's best friend. They love eating slugs, caterpillars and beetles, vacuuming up unwanted invertebrates. The fragmentation of our landscape – through the replacement of hedgerows with fencing in farms and gardens – has destroyed their natural habitat, epitomising man's domination of the landscape, an encumbrance which is reflected in his negative effect on the world through climate change.

And then there are their positive effect on our mental health. "Natural Thinking", a report published in 2007 by the RSPB, presented evidence that suggested contact with nature and green space has a very positive effect on our way of thinking. Richard Louv, an American author, has identified "nature-deficit disorder", a condition which affects our modern selves. That phrase makes utter sense to me. I strongly believe that through caring for hedgehogs we can feel better about ourselves.

If you are lucky enough to have a garden, see if you can encourage a hedgehog in as a visitor. But they can be pretty fickle, so don't expect them to stay. If you want to create the perfect hedgehog garden I would suggest the best thing you do is a little less gardening. Make the garden more like hedgehog habitat, have a corner that is a little wilder, make sure that hedgehogs can get in and out. My advice is to get a hammock, a blanket and a gin and tonic and sit quietly, waiting and listening to the tell-tale sounds of a snuffling hedgehog. And when the hedgehog has come to your garden a few times – or perhaps when several hedgehogs have visited (unless you mark them with a little dot of paint, it can be hard to tell them apart) – try your luck at getting closer. See if you can approach quietly enough to allow them to continue feeding. Get a better look at them. If natural light is not strong enough, a red torch will help. And as you get closer, just think, very few people take this opportunity to get really close to a really wild animal. They would rather jet off on safari to see a lion lazing under a tree, than get nose-to-nose with a hedgehog. I know which I think gives you the better wild experience. Maybe you could get close to the moment that Nigel and I once shared.

Hugh Warwick was speaking to Rob Sharp. The paperback of Hugh's book, A Prickly Affair: My Life with Hedgehogs (£9.99), is published tomorrow by Allen Lane. To order a copy for the special price of £9.49 (free P&P) call Independent Books Direct on 08430 600 030, or visit independentbooksdirect.co.uk

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/hedgehogs-heroes-of-the-garden-1931464.html

Revealed: £1m bill to banish egg-stealing hedgehogs

Published Date: 23 February 2010
By Jenny Fyall

SCOTLAND'S natural heritage body should spend £1 million of public money funding another three years of an island hedgehog-trapping project, a report has recommended.

A scheme aiming to remove hedgehogs from the Uists in the Outer Hebrides has already been running for seven years, at a cost of £1.2 million.

Now Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has been advised to spend another £1.03 million on a further three years of even more intensive trapping work to catch more hedgehogs and rehome them on the mainland. So far 1,450 of the prickly animals have been trapped and rehomed, working out at more than £800 per hedgehog.

The spiny mammals are blamed for eating the eggs of vulnerable wading birds on the islands, causing numbers to decline, in some cases by as much as 50 per cent since the 1980s. The Uists have some of the most important populations of dunlin, ringed plover, redshank, snipe, lapwing and oystercatcher in Europe.

A report to be considered at a SNH board meeting today suggests stepping up efforts to trap the hedgehogs further over the next three years.

Trapping should take place all year round, instead of just during spring and summer, and for the first time dogs should be used to track the animals and speed up the work. This has raised concern from some animal welfare groups.

The Scotsman understands the recommendations in the report, written by SNH staff, are likely to lead to heated debate at today's board meeting, particularly due to the amount of money needed to fund the project.

The report highlights that it is a time of "challenging public sector funding outlook" and adds that the "principal risk" of the proposal is "the availability of funding and the risk to SNH's reputation if we are seen to be ineffective".

Despite the huge efforts from the Uist Wader Project team, which have so far focused on North Uist and Benbecula, the report also highlights that as yet there is no "statistically robust evidence" that it "has as yet resulted in a positive response in wader populations".

It goes on to say that there may be "other variables" having an impact on wader numbers such as changes in land use.

However, David MacLennan, area manager for the Western Isles at SNH, told The Scotsman he was "convinced" hedgehogs did have an impact on wader populations.

And he said the lack of evidence for improvements in wader numbers was due to a lack of survey work carried out to assess the impacts, because so far the focus had been on trapping the hedgehogs.

He added that he thought the £1 million cost of another three years was justified.

Hedgehogs are not native to the Uists. After a few were let loose in a garden in 1974 to help control slugs and snails they spread across the islands.

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Revealed--1m-bill-to.6094579.jp

Warm weather is cold comfort

10:41am Thursday 18th February 2010

The heavy snow and cold weather we have been experiencing this winter have come as something of a surprise to many of us. We have become used to mild temperatures and sometimes heavy rainfalls, but a fortnight of snow is something that many only remember from their childhood.

Extreme cold causes living things all sorts of problems.

Freezing temperatures turn water into ice so that animals cannot drink, and plants cannot take up water through their roots.

However, the wildlife that lives in, or visits, the British Isles is well adapted to low temperatures and a shortage of food.

Many species are descendants of the survivors of the last Ice Age. And they also managed to get through the ‘Little Ice Age’ that spanned the 16th to 19th centuries, when even the River Thames would famously freeze over regularly.

So, is this recent spell of cold weather really a threat to them?

When viewed on its own it would seem not to be a problem, but in the context of the erratic weather conditions that we have seen over recent years. a more sinister picture emerges.

Think back to the summer floods of 2006 and 2007, or the scorcher of 2003, and you realise that wildlife is increasingly and rapidly facing unpredictable conditions.

Conditions that are forcing it to change survival techniques developed over thousands of years.

Some animals cannot find enough food during the winter months to sustain them, so they slow their body processes to almost a standstill to survive — a process called hibernation.

The hedgehog, pictured right, is perhaps the most well-known hibernator in Britain. It fattens up on slugs, snails and other minibeasts in the autumn, and spends the cold months curled up in a sleep-like state in a cosy nest of leaves and dry grass.

Other mammals, such as bats and dormice, also rely on hibernation to survive the winter.

But hibernating animals do not stay asleep all through the winter; they will wake up on warmer days and look for food or water. They will also wake up if the temperature drops too low, and start shivering in order to keep their body from freezing.

Every time they wake up, they use a great deal of energy which makes it more difficult to survive when food supplies are low, especially if the warm spell is followed by a particularly deep freeze, like the one we have recently experienced.

Debbie Lewis, reserves ecology manager at BBOWT, said: “The effects of the changing weather patterns can cause additional stress on hedgehog populations that are already affected by loss of habitat due to intensive farming and urban development.

“Many of our reserves may look a little scruffy round the edges in the winter, but these areas have been specifically left with tall vegetation and piles of old wood so that they can provide a great location for hedgehogs to snuggle up in during the winter.”

Cold-blooded animals have developed other ways of survival. Some invertebrates release chemicals into their body fluids which prevent them from freezing, similar to the way anti-freeze works in the radiator of a car. Many caterpillars, some butterflies, slugs, snails, queen wasps and bumblebees spend the winter in this way.

Bumblebees typify the dangers that changing climate conditions pose to wildlife that uses this winter survival technique. Wild bumblebees can be found well into the Arctic Circle and they are able to fly and look for food in lower temperatures than honey bees.

The queen is capable of founding a whole new colony and she is the only one that survives through the winter. If periods of unseasonably mild weather cause her to come out of her dormant state too early, a subsequent cold spell could be devastating for the precious cargo of eggs, thus destroying a potential new colony.

It will take wildlife a long time to adapt to changing conditions, and ironically the changing weather patterns can produce some positive effects.

A particularly warm or wet winter, for example, could result in a wealth of slugs or insects, a vital source of food for many animals. But a return to cold weather could bring with it further problems.

There are two ways in which we can help wildlife cope with these erratic changes in weather patterns, by tackling the cause of the problem and by helping to alleviate its symptoms.

The cause of the problem is well known. There is now ample scientific evidence that changes in weather patterns are closely linked to climate change and the corresponding rise in greenhouse gases caused by human activity.

So, reducing your own carbon footprint is a first step in helping stabilise climate.

The second part of the solution is to keep protecting our best wildlife habitats and species, and to minimise other sources of damage so that there is the maximum diversity as we go into an uncertain future.

BBOWT manages its reserves to include a diversity of habitat structure, which includes graded woodland edges, scrub patches, tall herbs and short turf.

This creates varied habitats and niches for wildlife to thrive in, as well as safe havens from the weather and predators, and areas rich with food sources.

Matt Jackson, head of policy, planning and wider countryside at BBOWT, said: “We are already seeing the effects of a changing climate with new species arriving on nature reserves and others struggling to cope with changes in food supply.

“The real worry is the rate of change. We need to do anything we can to slow down how rapidly our climate changes to give habitats and species as much time as possible to adapt, and as much space as possible to do it in.”

The cold snap might not have hurt wildlife as much as we thought, but it is a sign of greater changes in climate conditions that could have a devastating effect on our local wildlife.

To find out more about how to join or volunteer for BBOWT go to www.bbowt.org.uk
Picture: Mike Taylor/ www.seeing.org

http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/leisure/5014991.Warm_weather_is_cold_comfort/

Fat albino hedgehog put on diet

Snowball, left, currently weighs 1.5 kilograms, compared to a normal hedgehog who weighs about 500 grams. Photo: JEFF MOORE

An albino hedgehog has been put on a special diet after his weight ballooned to three times the size of a normal one.

By Chris Irvine
Published: 7:30AM GMT 11 Dec 2009

Snowball currently weighs 1.5 kilograms, compared to a normal hedgehog who weighs about 500 grams.

He was taken to St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Buckinghamshire by a member of the public after experts were called in to help shed his extra weight.

He has been placed on a diet of low-fat kitten biscuits and are putting him through his paces with running and swimming sessions. He has so far lost 38 grams.

Les Stocker, the founder of St Tiggywinkles, told Sky News: "He was very, very fat. Hedgehogs just eat and eat and eat. If they have got food there, they will eat the lot.

"We may let him hibernate because that will help him lose weight. He’s got enough fat to survive hibernation and that might be the answer."

Snowball, who was taken to the hospital in October, will remain at St Tiggywinkles until the summer, when he will be released into a protected area for other albino headgehogs. Only one in every 10,000 hedgehogs is born with albinism, but the condition makes him particularly vulnerable to predators. The condition means they have no melanin pigment in their skin, eyes and spikes.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/6783030/Fat-albino-hedgehog-put-on-diet.html
See video at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8409188.stm

Fat albino hedgehog put on diet

Snowball, left, currently weighs 1.5 kilograms, compared to a normal hedgehog who weighs about 500 grams. Photo: JEFF MOORE

An albino hedgehog has been put on a special diet after his weight ballooned to three times the size of a normal one.

By Chris Irvine
Published: 7:30AM GMT 11 Dec 2009

Snowball currently weighs 1.5 kilograms, compared to a normal hedgehog who weighs about 500 grams.

He was taken to St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Buckinghamshire by a member of the public after experts were called in to help shed his extra weight.

He has been placed on a diet of low-fat kitten biscuits and are putting him through his paces with running and swimming sessions. He has so far lost 38 grams.

Les Stocker, the founder of St Tiggywinkles, told Sky News: "He was very, very fat. Hedgehogs just eat and eat and eat. If they have got food there, they will eat the lot.

"We may let him hibernate because that will help him lose weight. He’s got enough fat to survive hibernation and that might be the answer."

Snowball, who was taken to the hospital in October, will remain at St Tiggywinkles until the summer, when he will be released into a protected area for other albino headgehogs. Only one in every 10,000 hedgehogs is born with albinism, but the condition makes him particularly vulnerable to predators. The condition means they have no melanin pigment in their skin, eyes and spikes.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/6783030/Fat-albino-hedgehog-put-on-diet.html
See video at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8409188.stm

African pygmy hedgehogs become latest handbag accessory

African pygmy hedgehogs have become the latest must-have handbag accessory, prompting condemnation from animal welfare campaigners.

By Murray Wardrop
Published: 7:30AM GMT 11 Dec 2009

The tiny creatures are said to be stealing the hearts of rich women, including footballers' wives and girlfriends, ousting designer dogs like Chihuahuas from their handbags.

At five inches long, owners have told breeders they prefer the hedgehogs to take in their bags because they are easier to maintain than dogs.

Their popularity has been cemented by the variety of colours buyers can choose between – from albino to apricot and chocolate to salt and pepper.

However, animal welfare experts are outraged that the hedgehogs, which sell for around £250, are being marketed as fashion accessories.

Leanne Plumtree, of the RSPCA, said: "Pygmy hedgehogs are undoubtedly very cute but animals aren't accessories and promoting them as such is irresponsible.

"These are exotic animals whose needs are very difficult to meet in a household situation and where that's the case, the RSPCA does not believe they should be kept."

Janet Thornton from North West Animal Welfare rescue centre, in Warrington, Cheshire, added: "These hedgehogs are not fashion accessories

"These are disgusting deplorable people who swap and change their pets like their outfits."

Cheshire Waterlife wildlife centre, which stocks the hedgehogs, has witnessed a sharp increase in demand for the animals as pets in the run up to Christmas.

It said customers had travelled hundreds of miles in search of the creatures.

Steve Birchell, owner of the centre, said: "Our business is based on respect for animals and we ensure that anybody who buys a pet from us knows and understands the importance of proper care for their pet.

"We've been astounded at the popularity of these cute little creatures. I bought a number of the hedgehogs from a breeder who I met a few months ago little realising how popular they were set to become.

"Apparently they are all the range among the WAGS because they are cute, they love being handled and they will sit quite happily in a handbag. What's more they are also inexpensive to keep, feeding on cat-food."

"We've seen customers travel the length and breadth of the country to get here and buy one."

The centre advises prospective buyers to keep the pigmys in their own enclosure – away from other pets.

Diana Mather, a self-styled etiquette and style guru, said: "These lovely little animals should make a perfect present for the trend setter who has everything.

"They're ideal for designer mums to give to their children.

"The African pygmy hedgehog is a delightful little creature which is increasingly seen gracing designer kitchens and peeping out from the handbags of our fashionistas."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6784317/African-pygmy-hedgehogs-become-latest-handbag-accessory.html

See also: http://newslite.tv/2009/12/14/handbag-hedgehogs-become-new-p.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+newslite+%28news%3Alite.tv%29

African pygmy hedgehogs become latest handbag accessory

African pygmy hedgehogs have become the latest must-have handbag accessory, prompting condemnation from animal welfare campaigners.

By Murray Wardrop
Published: 7:30AM GMT 11 Dec 2009

The tiny creatures are said to be stealing the hearts of rich women, including footballers' wives and girlfriends, ousting designer dogs like Chihuahuas from their handbags.

At five inches long, owners have told breeders they prefer the hedgehogs to take in their bags because they are easier to maintain than dogs.

Their popularity has been cemented by the variety of colours buyers can choose between – from albino to apricot and chocolate to salt and pepper.

However, animal welfare experts are outraged that the hedgehogs, which sell for around £250, are being marketed as fashion accessories.

Leanne Plumtree, of the RSPCA, said: "Pygmy hedgehogs are undoubtedly very cute but animals aren't accessories and promoting them as such is irresponsible.

"These are exotic animals whose needs are very difficult to meet in a household situation and where that's the case, the RSPCA does not believe they should be kept."

Janet Thornton from North West Animal Welfare rescue centre, in Warrington, Cheshire, added: "These hedgehogs are not fashion accessories

"These are disgusting deplorable people who swap and change their pets like their outfits."

Cheshire Waterlife wildlife centre, which stocks the hedgehogs, has witnessed a sharp increase in demand for the animals as pets in the run up to Christmas.

It said customers had travelled hundreds of miles in search of the creatures.

Steve Birchell, owner of the centre, said: "Our business is based on respect for animals and we ensure that anybody who buys a pet from us knows and understands the importance of proper care for their pet.

"We've been astounded at the popularity of these cute little creatures. I bought a number of the hedgehogs from a breeder who I met a few months ago little realising how popular they were set to become.

"Apparently they are all the range among the WAGS because they are cute, they love being handled and they will sit quite happily in a handbag. What's more they are also inexpensive to keep, feeding on cat-food."

"We've seen customers travel the length and breadth of the country to get here and buy one."

The centre advises prospective buyers to keep the pigmys in their own enclosure – away from other pets.

Diana Mather, a self-styled etiquette and style guru, said: "These lovely little animals should make a perfect present for the trend setter who has everything.

"They're ideal for designer mums to give to their children.

"The African pygmy hedgehog is a delightful little creature which is increasingly seen gracing designer kitchens and peeping out from the handbags of our fashionistas."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6784317/African-pygmy-hedgehogs-become-latest-handbag-accessory.html

See also: http://newslite.tv/2009/12/14/handbag-hedgehogs-become-new-p.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+newslite+%28news%3Alite.tv%29

Meet the man who cooks and eats road kill

18th November 2009

By Stephen Bailey

JONATHAN McGowan likes healthy meat. So he only eats animals that have been run over.

The 42-year-old from Bournemouth patrols Dorset for dead deer, badgers and toads.

Jonathan’s Fox Curry

Fry strips of fox tenderloin with chopped shallots, garlic, celery, red peppers and wild Dorset mushrooms in olive oil for five minutes. Then put the ingredients in a saucepan with a dash of water before adding salt and pepper, and a jar of Tikka Masala sauce. Simmer for ten minutes then serve with Pilau rice and home made elderberry and blackberry wine.

“Rats are lovely,” he said as the Echo joined him for a day around Wareham and Bere Regis.

“They are a bit like pork and they taste salty. They are delicious in a stir-fry.”

Jonathan is a naturalist and got curious about the taste of the animals when he looked for specimens to stuff.

His freezer is full of his favourite meats like freshly killed muntjac deer.

He said: “I am a scavenger, a hunter gatherer like man used to be. I don’t buy commercial meat. I find modern farming methods cruel and unhealthy.

“The animals get BSE, they are full of hormones and steroids and additives.

“I try to eat healthy meat from animals that have lived a good life in the world and not been contaminated.

“They don’t live long and because they are active, the meat is leaner and more tasty.

“To waste it when there are people starving in the world seems crazy to me.”

He only picks up freshly killed animals that are not too “mashed” by passing cars.

We passed a thoroughly squashed badger that had been dead for a few days.

Apparently the interior flesh might still be edible once the animal had been washed and the grit removed.

But Jonathan finds so many animals that he does not need to bother with such poor finds.

We found a pheasant near Wareham and a young male fox that had been killed overnight in the bus lane of Bournemouth’s Christchurch Road.

Back at his Pokesdown flat, Jonathan cut a strip of purple tenderloin meat from the fox’s back, ignoring the musky smell.

He fried it up with beansprouts and Hoi-Sin sauce, and the meat was a bit chewy but otherwise unremarkable.

He said: “Fox is usually very tasty and more-ish. It’s not fatty. It’s lovely and sweet and tender. I put it in curries and spaghetti bolognese.”

There is little he has not tried.

Blackbirds have rich, dark meat. Owls are quite bland, while cormorants are excellent with cranberry sauce.

Badger and otter are muttony with a slightly bitter flavour.

The flesh of stoats and weasels can be contaminated with their defensive anal scent, and hedgehogs are very fatty with an unpleasant rancid flavour.

He is a taxidermist and member of Bournemouth Natural Science Society, and many of his finds are stuffed for educational use.

He grew up in the countryside and his real passion is conservation. He records the levels of roadkill, and said it shows the damage we do to the animal world – he would not kill one of these animals himself.

Jonathan said his friends are often reluctant to try his meat but when they give it a go are usually won over.

“My boyfriend doesn’t give a damn. He eats venison and likes it. A lot of my friends who come for a meal trust me and know the meat will be fresh.”

What would his menu be if he appeared on the dinner part themed show Come Dine With Me?

“A frog and watercress soup to start. Then mayfly sorbet – they taste like toast. And for the main, roast hare with parsnips and gravy.”

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/4747249.Rats_are_salty_but_delicious_in_a_stir_fry__Meet_the_Bournemouth_man_who_cooks_and_eats_animals_he_finds_dead_on_the_roadside/

(Submitted by Mark North)

Meet the man who cooks and eats road kill

18th November 2009

By Stephen Bailey

JONATHAN McGowan likes healthy meat. So he only eats animals that have been run over.

The 42-year-old from Bournemouth patrols Dorset for dead deer, badgers and toads.

Jonathan’s Fox Curry

Fry strips of fox tenderloin with chopped shallots, garlic, celery, red peppers and wild Dorset mushrooms in olive oil for five minutes. Then put the ingredients in a saucepan with a dash of water before adding salt and pepper, and a jar of Tikka Masala sauce. Simmer for ten minutes then serve with Pilau rice and home made elderberry and blackberry wine.

“Rats are lovely,” he said as the Echo joined him for a day around Wareham and Bere Regis.

“They are a bit like pork and they taste salty. They are delicious in a stir-fry.”

Jonathan is a naturalist and got curious about the taste of the animals when he looked for specimens to stuff.

His freezer is full of his favourite meats like freshly killed muntjac deer.

He said: “I am a scavenger, a hunter gatherer like man used to be. I don’t buy commercial meat. I find modern farming methods cruel and unhealthy.

“The animals get BSE, they are full of hormones and steroids and additives.

“I try to eat healthy meat from animals that have lived a good life in the world and not been contaminated.

“They don’t live long and because they are active, the meat is leaner and more tasty.

“To waste it when there are people starving in the world seems crazy to me.”

He only picks up freshly killed animals that are not too “mashed” by passing cars.

We passed a thoroughly squashed badger that had been dead for a few days.

Apparently the interior flesh might still be edible once the animal had been washed and the grit removed.

But Jonathan finds so many animals that he does not need to bother with such poor finds.

We found a pheasant near Wareham and a young male fox that had been killed overnight in the bus lane of Bournemouth’s Christchurch Road.

Back at his Pokesdown flat, Jonathan cut a strip of purple tenderloin meat from the fox’s back, ignoring the musky smell.

He fried it up with beansprouts and Hoi-Sin sauce, and the meat was a bit chewy but otherwise unremarkable.

He said: “Fox is usually very tasty and more-ish. It’s not fatty. It’s lovely and sweet and tender. I put it in curries and spaghetti bolognese.”

There is little he has not tried.

Blackbirds have rich, dark meat. Owls are quite bland, while cormorants are excellent with cranberry sauce.

Badger and otter are muttony with a slightly bitter flavour.

The flesh of stoats and weasels can be contaminated with their defensive anal scent, and hedgehogs are very fatty with an unpleasant rancid flavour.

He is a taxidermist and member of Bournemouth Natural Science Society, and many of his finds are stuffed for educational use.

He grew up in the countryside and his real passion is conservation. He records the levels of roadkill, and said it shows the damage we do to the animal world – he would not kill one of these animals himself.

Jonathan said his friends are often reluctant to try his meat but when they give it a go are usually won over.

“My boyfriend doesn’t give a damn. He eats venison and likes it. A lot of my friends who come for a meal trust me and know the meat will be fresh.”

What would his menu be if he appeared on the dinner part themed show Come Dine With Me?

“A frog and watercress soup to start. Then mayfly sorbet – they taste like toast. And for the main, roast hare with parsnips and gravy.”

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/4747249.Rats_are_salty_but_delicious_in_a_stir_fry__Meet_the_Bournemouth_man_who_cooks_and_eats_animals_he_finds_dead_on_the_roadside/

(Submitted by Mark North)

Adder Cadabra!! Wildwood’s Adders disappear for the winter

As the cold nights approach some of the UK’s native species look forward to hibernation, sleeping through the winter freeze and emerging again in the summer time. At the Wildwood Trust, two years of hard work will end this year as they wait with bated breath to see if their baby adders will be able to survive the cold.

Born at the Park in 2007, 12 adders have been hand reared by a dedicated keeper team. This is the first time that they will leave the warmth of their indoor enclosure where they have lived in for the last 25 months. “We've built them a hibernation box”, explained their keeper, Ali Bennett, “It’s full of straw and dead leaves to keep them warm and safe from the weather.”

This box has been placed inside Wildwood’s newly renovated Adder enclosure. “We've taken every precaution we can take to make them as ready as they can possibly be,” commented Paul Wirdnam Head Keeper at Wildwood Trust, “We've feed them up and given them a natural dry habitat to hibernate in, so now its fingers crossed and hope for the best.”

The new enclosure has been specially designed with a range of features that will ensure a frost free winter for the adders. Leaf litter, dead grass and logs have been used to create a natural underground kingdom of self draining tunnels that will keep the adders warm and dry whatever the weather. On top of this natural habitat the man made hibernation box has been placed so that the adders can choose where they want to spend the winter.

Adders are just one of the huge range of British animals that can be seen at the Wildwood Discovery Park as well, for more information visit the website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 0871 782 0087.

Wildwood is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. Wildwood offers its members and visitors a truly inspirational way to learn about the natural history of Britain by actually seeing the wildlife that once lived here, like the wolf, beaver, red squirrel, wild boar and many more.

Wildwood is situated close to Canterbury, just off the A291 between Herne Bay and Canterbury. For more information visit our website at www.wildwoodtrust.org or telephone 0871 782 0081.

More Facts about Adder breeding at Wildwood:

Wildwood is unique in the country in its ability to successfully breed many of the UK ’s endangered native species. These adders are the only ones in the country who have been trained from birth to be fed by tongs. This enables the keepers to keep a detailed record of how much the animal has eaten and if it will be enough to face the long cold winter ahead. It is vital that organisations like Wildwood protect and breed these reptiles to give them a successful future. Adders have slowly disappeared from the British countryside in the last fifty years leading to their inclusion in BAP – The government’s British Biodiversity Plan.

Adder Facts:
Vipera berus

Adders are the only species found inside the Arctic circle. They are also Britain's only venomous reptile.

Length: 50-65cm. Females are larger than the males.

Adders are short with large heads with a rounded nose and red-brown eyes. Males are usually a grey colour with vivid black markings, although they can also vary from silver to yellow or green in colour. Females are brown with dark red-brown markings that are less prominent than in the males. Both sexes have a zigzag pattern running along the back with a / or X-shaped marking at the rear of the head, although this zigzag pattern may be replaced by a straight brown stripe with dark spots on either side. Adders have black undersides.

Distribution
Adders are widespread throughout mainland Britain , but are absent from Ireland . They occur throughout Europe, with the exception of the Mediterranean islands, and across Russia and Asia through to N. China .

Habitat
Adders occupy a variety of habitats, including open woodland, hedgerows, moorland, sand dunes, riverbanks, bogs, heathland and mountains.

Diet
Adders use venom to immobilise prey such as lizards, amphibians, nestlings and small mammals. After striking their prey, they will leave the venom to take effect before following the victim’s scent to find the body. This is an economical way of hunting, avoiding any damage that could be caused by struggling with prey.

Behaviour
Adders are active during the day, spending time basking until their body temperature is high enough to hunt for food. In some of the hotter countries of their range, they may emerge at dawn and dusk to avoid the intense heat. Mating takes place between April and May, with males often fighting for females. They rear up at each other and try to push the head of their opponent onto the ground. Eventually, one male will give up and search for another mate. Adders hibernate from September to March when temperatures dip below nine degrees Celsius, often using deserted rabbit or rodent burrows, or settling under logs. They sometimes hibernate communally. Males emerge 2-5 weeks before the females and shed their skin before setting off in search of females.

Reproduction
April-May. Adders have a 3 to 4 month gestation period and are one of the few snakes that are viviparous (give birth to live young). In late August females give birth to between 5 and 20 live young, although usually the number is between 6 and 10. The young remain close to their mother for a few days, before going off in search of food.

Conservation status
Adders are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 from being killed, injured or sold.

Adders are not aggressive snakes, and will only attack if harassed or threatened. Although an adder’s venom poses little danger to a healthy adult human, the bite is painful and requires immediate medical attention.

Other animals that hibernate:

Hedgehogs, dormice, frogs, toads, newts, slow worms, snakes, ladybirds and lacewings are all creatures that will hibernate in the UK and you may be lucky enough to find them in your garden!

Hedgehogs need to get their body weight up to survive the winter and you can very easily help with that, too. Leave out dog food, chopped peanuts, crunchy peanut butter, raw or cooked meat leftovers, muesli and a small amount of vegetables. Don’t leave bread and milk as it gives them diarrhoea.

Frogs and toads spend the winter in the mud at the bottom of ponds. If you have a garden pond you can really help your hibernators by floating a tennis ball in the water to prevent it from freezing over. Other amphibians hibernate in piles of leaves, long grass or logs.

Hedgehogs, Slow worms and other reptiles will snuggle down in your compost heap along with insects such as ladybirds and lacewings. They help to keep garden pests under control and stop you having to resort to pesticides.

Photos: Wildwood.