The hedgehog “is very close to being 'vulnerable', and it is likely that it will fall into this category the next time we assess it”, warns Sophie Rasmussen, researcher at the wildlife conservation unit from the University of Oxford, according to which “humans are the worst enemies of hedgehogs”. To protect itself from natural predators such as badgers, foxes or owls, the hedgehog curls up into a ball, using the 8,000 quills on its back as a repellent. But “in front of a car, it's not a very good strategy,” whispers Sophie Rasmussen in an interview from Lejre, Denmark.
Other threats to the species are pesticides used by the agricultural industry but also in private gardens, and the decline of insects which make up a large part of its diet.
Sophie Rasmussen, whose research was included in the update of the UNIC Red List, invites everyone to act because, according to her, the survival of hedgehogs “will be played out in home gardens”. She invites owners to build “hedgehog highways”, that is to say a hole in the exterior fence to allow them passage at night, and to leave a small reserve of water and food waste on their way. “The best thing you can do is let your garden grow wild to attract everything a hedgehog needs to eat: insects, earthworms, snails and slugs.”
More than a third of tree species threatened with extinction
More than one species of trees in three is also threatened with extinction, according to the Red List published Monday at COP16 biodiversity. Deforestation, for the benefit of intensive agriculture or overexploitation of wood, parasites and invasive species, as well as climate change caused by humanity are among the main threats.
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