Innovative Tracking to Protect Hedgehogs
Hedgehog "backpacks" equipped with GPS devices and a specially trained detection dog are being utilized to help conserve the declining hedgehog population across Europe.
A new tracking initiative involves attaching a small GPS device to the spine of a hedgehog, resembling a tiny backpack, allowing researchers to monitor their movements in detail.
As part of this effort, Ireland's first hedgehog detection dog has been trained to assist in locating these small mammals.
The western European hedgehog, a common species, is currently classified as Near Threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The project, led by Ulster Wildlife, fits a small device temporarily onto male hedgehogs to avoid disturbing nesting females.
These trackers enable the charity to map the nightly routes of hedgehogs, including the number of gardens they traverse, the roads they cross, their feeding locations, and resting spots.
Ulster Wildlife noted that recent studies from the UK and Ireland indicate hedgehogs are increasingly retreating to urban areas, with gardens in towns and cities potentially serving as their last refuge.
However, there is limited knowledge about how hedgehogs navigate urban environments and the challenges they encounter.
Katy Bell of Ulster Wildlife emphasized that the GPS devices do not interfere with the hedgehogs' natural behavior, stating,
"They can still roll up into a ball."
Russell: The Hedgehog Detection Dog
The hedgehog detection dog, trained by Conservation Detection Dogs NI, is tasked with locating tags that have fallen off and aiding in the efficient tracking of hedgehogs.
Patrice Kerrigan and her two-year-old cocker spaniel, Russell, oversee this aspect of the project.
Kerrigan, who has experience training dogs to find bat and bird carcasses near wind farms, has assigned Russell to focus on hedgehogs.
She explained,
"There are two parts where Russell is going to help. His first is to track hedgehogs that aren't coming to feeders because we want to see what they are doing and what their movements are because, at the moment, Ulster Wildlife are catching the hedgehogs that are coming to feeders that are artificially set up - that's the only data they are getting."
Russell's second role involves assisting with hedgehogs that have been tagged, especially when the tags stop emitting signals, which can result in the loss of both the tags and the animals.
Kerrigan added,
"That's where Russell comes in to help with those as well."
Hedgehogs as Beneficial Garden Visitors
Katy Bell highlighted that the hedgehog population has "declined by millions" since the 1950s.
As a senior conservation officer with Ulster Wildlife, she identified habitat loss and food scarcity as primary factors contributing to this decline.
Bell expressed optimism about the tracking project, which will provide data specific to Northern Ireland on hedgehog movements, stating,
"It's really exciting, we are hoping all of this data will inform conservation action for hedgehogs going forward."
Describing hedgehogs as "the gardener's friend," Bell emphasized their importance in gardens where they consume slugs and added,
"They're just lovely to see."
Creating Hedgehog Highways
Maureen Carvill, a gardening officer with Ulster Wildlife, discussed various modifications that can be made to gardens to accommodate hedgehogs and other wildlife.
The data from the tracking project will guide recommendations for creating features such as "hedgehog highways" and log piles that attract insects and other mini-beasts, which serve as food for hedgehogs.
A hedgehog highway is a passage that allows hedgehogs to move freely between gardens.
Carvill explained,
"One garden doesn't provide a mate and all its food. So it needs these highways to travel across the countryside."
She noted that hedgehogs can travel up to 3km (1.9 miles) each night and have home ranges up to 20 hectares, meaning they frequently move between different gardens.
Carvill identified several man-made factors contributing to hedgehog decline, including strimmers, electric lawnmowers, slug pellets, cars, cattle grids, and ponds.
She recommended simple actions such as providing shallow dishes of water, creating log piles, and planting pollinator-friendly plants to support hedgehogs.
Carvill remarked,
"People go into garden centres and they don't really know what to buy. If you look for anything that has the RHS logo on it, with a little bee, that means it's pollinator friendly and will start to bring in the butterflies and the moths which will bring in all the insects and there's your food chain for the hedgehog."
