This is a charming book about a species that is being lost from our lives.
I haven’t seen a live Hedgehog for several years and there aren’t many squashed on the roads around here these days. Friends and family send videos of hedgehogs if they come across one – this once common species is now for many of us a rarity.
This book is a good way to acquaint (or reacquaint) yourself with the species and there are more images of Hedgehogs in this little book that I’ve seen live ones in my life.
It’s a great inroduction to the species as a species (diet, morphology, reproduction etc), as conservation case (threats and solutions) and its place in folklore and legends. It’s a delightful introduction.
There is no index, which is a shame, but I did track down what the author thinks about Badger predation on Hedgehogs (see page 58).
Reading this book reminded me of Hedgehogs – how sad it is to write that phrase. It is said to be our favourite animal species – I’m not sure what Robins would think of that – but it surely is a favourite and for many good reasons. It occupies our gardens, it eats slugs, it is cute and very different from other mammals. But will it be the favourite animal in 25 years’ time? Or will there be too few of us who even remember them then?
Hugh Warwick is a great advocate for the Hedgehog and this is a charming book.
The Hedgehog Book by Hugh Warwick is published by Graffeg.
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It is really necessary to reflect on it, they are unique species that achieve diversity in our nature. Thank you for your contribution!
Up until about three years ago we regularly had four or five hedgehogs in our garden in Lincolnshire. Then they seemed to vanish but we occasionally saw evidence of the presence of at least one on the lawn. This year we have seen two live hedgehogs which has given us some hope. I have, however, also noticed a lot fewer slugs these last few years. This has caused me to wonder, is something in nature causing the demise of both at the same time, or is the lack of slugs a major cause of the lack of hedgehogs and if so, what is happening to the slugs? I have not read ‘The Hedgehog Book’, so am now about to obtain a copy.