Heatwave puts pressure on Cornwall’s hedgehog population

A hedgehog rescue centre near Newquay says extreme summer temperatures are adding to pressure on Cornwall’s vulnerable hedgehog population.

Prickles and Paws Hedgehog Rescue admitted 253 animals during July — a rise of more than 57% compared with the same month last year.

The charity cared for 728 hedgehogs between January and the end of July, with as many as 151 on site at one time.

Despite the rise in admissions, the rescue also returned a record 104 rehabilitated hedgehogs to the wild during July.

Prickles and Paws said prolonged hot and dry conditions had made it more difficult for wildlife to find sufficient food and water.

Its co-founder and rescue director, Katy South, said the charity was seeing increasing numbers of dehydrated and underweight hedgehogs, alongside what she described as an “alarming” number of abandoned hoglets.

She said the team suspected that some mothers were struggling to raise their young through to weaning because of the dry conditions.

The smallest hoglets require specialist feeds every two hours around the clock, placing additional demands on the rescue’s care team.

Ms South said its new purpose-built Hogspital had allowed the charity to cope with the increased number of animals.

She added: “There is no way we could have coped with these numbers back in our former site, which was a residential back garden setting with limited capacity.”

Prickles and Paws chief executive John Lewis said the pressure on the rescue was “immense”, but staff were releasing almost as many rehabilitated hedgehogs as they were admitting.

The charity is asking people to leave shallow dishes of clean water and cat or kitten biscuits, dog food or specialist hedgehog food in their gardens each night.

Anyone who finds a hedgehog which appears injured, weak or lethargic - or is outside during the day and showing signs of distress - should contact a wildlife rescue for advice rather than attempting to care for it themselves.

People can also help by creating wildlife-friendly areas where hedgehogs can find food and shelter.