British Hedgehog Population Is in Danger of Collapse
The unofficial mascot of the UK is in trouble. Over the past 60 years, the country's once-prolific hedgehog population has dwindled from 30 million, to fewer than one million. Humans are likely to blame, with developers building on traditional habitats and farmers changing landscapes, but British citizens are stepping up to do what they can for the spiny little beasts.
Some hold official, paying positions (a job in Ipswich garnered approximately 150 applications this summer), while others, like Linda Cleme, volunteer their time, working to rehabilitate hedgehogs. "I've got very fond of hedgehogs because they don't cause any harm to people," she told the Wall Street Journal. "All they want to do is wander about in people's gardens, eating the insects that we don't particularly like, and they have such terrible injuries brought on them, mainly by humans."
Debbie Wright, a scientist and official Junior Hedgehog Officer, even dons a hedgehog costume to help education school children.
They hope to stop the decline of the species by treating sick and injured hedgehogs and abandoned hoglets before releasing them back into the wild.
"What more perfect job could there be than a hedgehog officer?" asked Fay Vass, chief executive of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society to the Journal. "You spend the day trying to make things better for hedgehogs. What more could you ask for?"
For more on what is being done to save the hedgehog, head over to the Wall Street Journal.
