Hedgehog rescue sees influx of hoglets due to heat

An "unprecedented" number of hoglets have been rescued due to the heatwaves, a hedgehog rescue centre has said.

Prickles and Paws Hospital, based near Newquay, Cornwall, said it had been a "busy few weeks" for the hospital with an influx of young hedgehogs.

Hospital co-founder Diane South said the small mammals were not coping in the hot and dry weather.

"With more hot weather forecast, we are really concerned," she said. South urged people to put out dishes of water for the animals.

On Thursday, South said she had 25 baby hoglets in their incubators, as well as 14 in bigger accommodation.

"It doesn't mean there are more hedgehogs out there, it just means with the recent heatwave, they didn't cope.

"We've had an unprecedented amount of little ones coming in."

South said the mothers in many cases were pushing their young out of the nests a lot earlier than usual due to not finding enough food and water, meaning they were unable to produce enough milk for the hoglets.

South said any help was appreciated because despite moving to its new and bigger hospital, it was "struggling".

"We thought moving to our new hospital would give us lots more space but we're finding with the influx of hoglets it's filling up very, very rapidly."

She encouraged people to put dishes of water in their gardens for the mammals because it could be "life and death" for the hoglets.

South said with a national decline in the number of hedgehogs, it was difficult to give an accurate assessment of how many hedgehogs were in Cornwall.

"As long as they can access people's gardens in urban areas, they are doing quite well... but it's in rural areas, they are really struggling."

South added when the hedgehogs pulled through and were released back into the wild, it made it all "worthwhile".

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