Orphaned hedgehog babies highlight risk to wildlife

The hoglets were taken to Farthings Veterinary Surgery in Guildford Road, and are now being looked after by Care for the Wild. Tarnya Knight, the charity’s wildlife carer, said the plight of the mother was unknown, but the story highlights the risk to wildlife at this time of year.

“These guys are around two weeks old so there’s no way they’d be wandering around without their mother unless something had happened to her. I’ll be hand-feeding them for a while until they can manage by themselves, then we’ll release them,” said Tarnya.

“We don’t know what happened to mum, but there are a lot of dangers around at the moment. Hedgehogs and other wildlife like to make their homes in compost heaps, long grass or under sheds. Strangely in summer a lot of people seem to move their sheds, so please make sure there’s nothing living under there before you go in heavy handed!”

Other tips for protecting hedgehogs in your garden include remembering that slug pellets can kill hedgehogs, and strimmers can mutilate them – please check potential hedgehog hiding places first.

If anyone has a safe place where hedgehogs can be released, please contact Tarnya at [email protected]. Care for the Wild is a charity based in Horsham dedicated to the protection of wildlife in the UK and abroad.