Category: Wales
Date: 27.04.2006
Printable version
Are hedgehogs heading towards extinction in Wales? That's the question posed by wildlife expert Iolo Williams who is launching a nationwide survey to find out why the popular spiky creature is in such steep decline.
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The hedgehog population has dropped 20 per cent in the past four years which Iolo describes as "an amazing rate of decline".
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Yet nobody has been able to explain exactly why they are becoming such a rare sight.
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A trend for tidy gardens and decking has been suggested as a possible reason, because they take away the hedgehog's natural habitat.
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Similarly, widespread use of pesticides and insecticides could be stripping away the animal's favourite food sources.
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Ahead of the return of his series Iolo's Welsh Safari - a programme which shows viewers how to find wildlife safari adventure virtually on their own doorsteps - Iolo is taking up the plight of the hedgehog to try to find some answers.
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"It's very serious," says Iolo. "I used to have hedgehogs in my garden every night practically, and I haven't seen a live hedgehog in my garden for the best part of three years now, and the worst thing is we don't really know why.
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"There's got to be a whole host of reasons that we don't really understand.
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"We need to do quite a bit of research into this because there's no doubting they've disappeared from vast areas.
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"We desperately need people to get in touch with us to tell us if they've seen hedgehogs.
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"It's the first step in a much more detailed survey. We can use all the information we gather to help the little hedgehog survive."
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Each week, Iolo's Welsh Safari will be inviting viewers to help build a map of animal and bird activity by emailing reports and pictures of different species.
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People with hedgehog sightings to report can contact Iolo via the 91Èȱ¬ Wales nature website.
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The initial results of the survey will be broadcast on Iolo's Welsh Safari on Wednesday 3 May 2006 on 91Èȱ¬ ONE Wales at 7.00pm.
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KS2
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