Hedgehog Awareness Week 2022

Hedgehog Awareness Week.

Here at Rivar Sand and Gravel we love our prickly hedgehog friends, and the 1^st May marked the beginning of Hedgehog awareness week.

Hedgehogs are incredible creatures and there are so many interesting facts about them but due to habitat loss and lots of other factors their numbers have declined from over 30 million in the 1950’s to just 1 million today.

So why are Hedgehogs so amazing? Here are some facts about them that will show you why –

1. They are the oldest species of mammal on our planet with origins thinking to start at about 15 million years ago, it is believed that they haven’t changed much in all that time.
2. There are 17 species of Hedgehog all over the world including Europe, Asia, Africa and New Zealand.
3. A group of Hedgehogs is called an “Array”
4. The name Hedgehog derives from the way they rummage in the undergrowth and sound like little piglets.
5. Hedgehogs are immune to snake venom.
6. Hedgehogs are the UK’s only spiny mammal and they can have 5000 – 7000 spines, each one lasting a year before is falls off and is replaced.
7. Hedgehogs are lactose intolerant, so the old method of feeding bread soaked in milk was actually harmful to them. If you want to feed hedgehogs provide water and a good quality meaty hedgehog, dog or cat food.
8. They have a lifespan of 3-8 years.
9. They produce a thick saliva that they lick onto their spines, this tastes horrible to predators and repels parasites.
10. They are the gardeners friend because they eat slugs!
If you want to find out more on how to help Hedgehogs click here to go to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS).