'Don't pick up small hedgehogs', rescuer warns

Animal rescuers are advising people not to pick up hedgehogs to weigh them if they appear to be underweight.

The famously spiky mammals typically fatten themselves up during autumn before entering hibernation, with members of the public reporting concerns to charities if they see animals who look small and underweight.

However, changing climate conditions are being cited as a factor in hedgehogs taking longer to add layers on before settling down for the colder weather.

Rachel Thomas, who runs Prickleback Urchin Hedgehog Rescue Centre in Rutland with her partner Jason, advises caution.

"Quite often people get worried about their garden hedgehogs not being big enough and fat enough to survive hibernation," she said.

"The weather is a little bit all over the place, and certainly there are changes in weather patterns, so the idea of a hedgehog being underweight or too small, is something we don't really want people to start worrying about yet in October, or even November, because there's still plenty of time for the hedgehogs to put on sufficient fat to get through a hibernation period - if, indeed, they even have one."

In 2020, hedgehogs were included on the Mammal Society's red list for British mammals as being at risk of extinction, though there has been a recent increase in garden sightings.

Ms Thomas said they remained vulnerable, especially if they entered hibernation, adding any sightings of the animals during daylight hours - unless it is pregnant - should be reported to specialists who can help.

"People love their hedgehogs - they're Britain's favourite mammal in most studies that come up, and they are absolutely fantastic creatures - but we also want to make sure we're not interfering with them," she said.

"By picking them up and weighing them, even though your intentions are coming from the right place, you can cause a lot of stress, which then can cause the animal to have further issues.

"Really, at this time of year, it's only if the hedgehog is out in the day that you're going to be concerned about it, because then it's clearly breaking its nocturnal behaviours, indicating something is wrong."

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