OPAL asks Hull residents to help count hedgehogs

OPAL researchers at the University of York are asking East Hull residents to help monitor the numbers of one of the UK’s most distinctive animals.

Rural hedgehog populations have declined in recent years due to habitat loss and changes in farming. OPAL scientists want to find out how many hedgehogs are now taking refuge in urban green spaces such as gardens and parks.

As part of the study, coloured tags will be attached to the spines of hedgehogs in the Marfleet, Greatfield and Kingswood areas of Hull. The tags are harmless to the hedgehogs, and will fall off within a few months.

OPAL researcher Sal Hobbs explains, 'We need residents to spot hedgehogs and to tell us the colour of the tag, the letters printed on it and the exact location of the animal. This information will help us to plot a map of where the different hedgehogs are going, how far they travel, and which gardens they choose to visit.

'The information that the community helps us gather will be extremely valuable in devising conservation measures for this wonderful species.'

The hedgehog study has been organised by scientists at the Environment Department and the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York.