Keep hedgehogs safe tomorrow!
TO A hedgehog looking for a cosy winter home in which to hibernate, a bonfire pile looks like a five-star hotel. They can’t possibly know that we plan to set light to it. Most people will have built their bonfires for tomorrow night already, but there are still some simple precautions to take in trying to keep hedgehogs safe.
Ideally, move the bonfire materials to clear ground during the day tomorrow; check the pile carefully before striking that match; and offer hedgehogs an escape route by lighting from one side only. Hedgehogs tend to hide in the centre and bottom two feet of a bonfire — so check by lifting it gently, section by section, with a pole or broom (not a spade or fork, which could stab a hedgehog). Use a torch to spot movements and listen for a hissing sound, which is the noise the creatures make when they are disturbed. If you do find a hedgehog, taking as much of the nest as you can along with it, place it in a highsided cardboard box with plenty of newspaper, old towelling or straw. Ensure there are airholes punched in the lid and that it is secured firmly (hedgehogs are great climbers).
Wear gardening gloves or use an old towel to handle them. This not only protects you from their spikes, but will help prevent human smells getting on them and keep them calm. Hedgehogs are easily stressed.
Put the box in a safe, quiet place such as a shed or garage, well away from the Bonfire night festivities, and offer the hedgehog some meaty cat or dog food and water. Once the embers have been fully dampened down afterwards, release the hedgehog under a hedge or bush, or behind a stack of logs, near where it was found, along with its original nesting materials.
FAY VASS, chief executive, British Hedgehog Preservation Society.