Zoologist warns moving hedgehogs can cause fatal stress

Hedgehogs can die from stress if taken far from their home range, zoologist Lauri Klein told ERR’s Ökoskoop programme, warning people not to bring the wild animals indoors or keep them as pets.

Hedgehogs are now looking for places to spend the winter, Klein said. A campaign collecting sightings runs until the end of the year, and people can submit observations through the biodiversity portal’s nature records database.

Between 7% and 10% of the hedgehogs reported to the Estonian Theriological Society have been found dead. Most were killed by traffic, Klein said. He added that hedgehog numbers are declining in Estonia and across Europe.

Hedgehogs are increasingly found in towns and cities, where they have fewer natural predators and more places to shelter, including under terraces. Klein said dogs can also pose a danger. Hedgehogs need dry nesting places: water can collect in their winter shelters, and animals may drown while hibernating.

Klein said hedgehogs eat a varied diet, including apples and snails. He suspects that slug and rat poisons may be another significant cause of death after road traffic, although he said there is no firm scientific evidence for this. He recommended using live traps for rats and moving them far away from the area.

Hedgehogs can become stressed easily, Klein said. If one is caught and taken for treatment, it should be returned to the same environment afterwards. Anyone hoping to attract hedgehogs to a garden should make it hedgehog-friendly, he said, adding that the necessary conditions have been developed.