Hedgehogs are waking up in some gardens (Image: Getty)
A warning has been issued to any households who spot hedgehogs in their garden this month.
As the weather finally threatens to warm up a bit following weeks of on and off snow and lots of cold rain, hedgehogs will be waking up from their winter hibernation and begin to make their way through our gardens.
Normally, hedgehogs wake up in mid-March or April though some people have already spotted them this February.
But Helen Baczkowska, conservation researcher at Norfolk Wildlife Trusts, has warned anyone who sees the spiky echidnas not to touch them or pick them up because this can cause real stress to these already seriously endangered creatures.
She said: “It’s pretty warm at the minute and they might come out, toddle around for a few days and then, if there’s a really cold snap, go back to sleep for a few days, not into a deep hibernation, but this time of year can be variable.
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“I would never advise people to pick them up and handle them or do anything with them unless they are obviously injured or trapped.
“They are much happier left to live their natural lives and are very good at finding what they need, as long as we don’t mess about with them.
“Hedgehogs don’t really like people. If you pick them up they can get stressed, if you handle them you can wake them up more than they are awake already.
“Don’t encourage them in the house and don’t pick them up just because you can. It really stresses them, will frighten them away and they may seek another refuge somewhere else.”
However, households have been told they should leave food out for hedgehogs this year, as long as it’s not bread or milk.
The British Hedgehog Preservation Society says you can supplement their natural food with a good-quality meaty hedgehog food, meaty cat or dog food, checking meat is the first ingredient listed, or dry biscuits for cats.
The conservation charity also suggests that it’s best to set up multiple feeding stations in different spots in the garden to reduce confrontations between hungry hedgehogs, or scatter small amounts of food in grass or undergrowth so hedgehogs can forage as they would naturally.
Baczkowska recommends placing the food somewhere quiet so they won’t be disturbed, perhaps even setting up a storage box with a little hole which visiting cats can’t access.
Only ever offer fresh water to drink and keep hedgehog dishes and cleaning equipment clean to reduce the risk of spreading diseases and parasites among them.
“Don’t give them bread or milk, like our grandparents used to, because it has nothing nutritious in it for them and they’re not evolved to drink milk, so it’s not good for them,” says Baczkowska.
She also urged people not to tidy away leaf piles just yet, as they could still be harbouring a hibernating hedgehog.
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