When the Marden Branch of the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust was formed, the force behind its beginnings was Mary Mackay. In the spring of this year Mary became unwell and gradually her health deteriorated, and she died in early September. Mary loved all wildlife, but she especially liked hedgehogs. This article is dedicated to her memory.

The hedgehog is high on people’s fascination and love for wildlife. As a child I saw them every spring and summer in our garden. It is thought that there were about 30 million then; this has dramatically dropped to about half a million today. They roam a long way at night and travel from the rural countryside into villages and towns. Unfortunately, we see many of our prickly friends run over on the road, as they curl up when frightened, which is often their downfall. I was travelling into Marden, this past summer, and in front of me was a  half grown hedgehog running back and forth across the road. Much to the amusement of the lorry driver behind me, I stopped my car in the middle of the road, with my hazards blinking away, and ran, chasing this fast creature whom I scooped up into my hands and popped him into the passenger footwell where he continued exploring. I drove down to Mary’s daughter, as her garden is a wildlife haven, but nobody was at home so I went to another friend’s and discovered that the hedgehog had come from the gardens there. It was happily ensconced, fed well for weeks, and shared by the neighbours to their delight. 

Not only are the roads a danger to these creatures but so also our enclosed neat, hedge-less and tightly fenced gardens. The use of pesticides contribute to their demise as well as bonfires, strimmers, lawnmowers and forks thrust into compost or leaf piles. They were once persecuted as pests as it was believed they were egg and milk thieves, (they are actually lactose intolerant.) For over 100 years it is thought that over half a million were killed and landowners would pay a fee for the dead bodies.

It was the likes of Beatrice Potter and her creation of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle that would have started to change people’s attitude to this helpful, slug eating mammal. It continues to endear people to it, with its nighttime exploits of snuffling, waddling and shuffling about under our bushes and onto our lawns. If none of our human hazards kill the hedgehog, it is estimated that they live, on average, two to three years in the wild. However, there are the exceptions to the rule and some may live to 10 years. A litter of one to eight hoglets, are born early summer and are up and running after their pink, blind start by 4 weeks and are on their own by 8 weeks.

Mary would love everyone to do their best to encourage hedgehogs by providing housing, food and vigilance so that they continue to survive as the UK’s favourite mammal.