Hedgehogs –
my prickly friends
by Joan Ibbs
I have been a volunteer at West Hatch for
the past eight years where I help in the
kennels – offering me plenty of furry friends
to cuddle.
About four years ago I went on an errand
to the Wildlife Centre. There a member of
the team asked if I would be interested in
releasing hedgehogs in my garden. I assured
her that I had a suitable wild garden for
them to live in and sent over some photos
so they could check that the habitat would
be appropriate for these special animals.
My husband constructed some hedgehog
boxes and when we had finished making the
garden hazard-free we received two prickly
friends ready for release. The hedgehogs
sometimes came back for food but seem to
have set up their own territories and enjoy
life in the wild. Since those first few we have
now released 15 hogs into the area as well as
helping to find other sites that offer all the
things a hedgehog needs.
Whilst I call all hedgehogs ‘sweetheart’, they
are of course wild animals and I don’t treat
them like pets. Many still visit my garden
even though they are free to roam in the
fields and woods of the local area and so
I put out a healthy hedgehog meal every
evening. On occasions I have been a little
late and found my prickly friends waiting for
their supper. I say “Sorry sweetheart, I have
been watching television”, how sad is that!
I have a cat-proof feeding station on the
patio consisting of a food dish covered by
a plastic trough with the ends cut out and
held in place by a brick. I go out into the
garden late at night with my trusty torch –
sometimes I have found up to four of my
spikey friends. I am absolutely besotted
with these little creatures and helping
them return to the wild has been such a
rewarding experience.
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