Where are all the hedgehogs?

At the weekend we visited Parc del Laberint d’Horta on the edge of Barcelona. It is a beautiful park and garden and a lovely place to visit with children. There are a lot of water features in the gardens: fountains, ponds and canals. Sadly in one of the small ponds we saw a dead European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). It had obviously fallen in (possibly after stopping for a drink) and had then been unable to get out because of the steep sides. A Catalan friend we were with said he’d never seen a hedgehog before and it made me think. I’ve only seen one other in the 10 and a half years that I have been living here and that one was dead on the road.

In England, I have seen more hedgehogs, both dead and alive. They always seemed fairly common there and I’ve always known at least one person who has hedgehogs regularly visiting their garden. But, sadly, I know that hedgehogs are in decline in many places.

In the United Kingdom, agriculture methods, pesticides, habitat loss and collisions with cars are all key factors contributing to this decline in hedgehog numbers. You can find out more information from the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and please get involved in the Hedgehog Street project too, if you can. 

Here in Catalunya, the Projecte Eriçons is working to gather more information about the distribution of hedgehogs. Hopefully the next hedgehog I see will be alive and well.