Hedgehogs are now endangered. Ten years ago their numbers were thought to be around sixty million, currently there are about 1.5 million.
Each year, Freshfields Animal Rescue cares for approximately 500 hedgehogs, suffering from an array of ailments. Many are youngsters, found dehydrated and wandering around in daylight.
Each year, Freshfields Animal Rescue cares for approximately 500 hedgehogs, suffering from an array of ailments. Many are youngsters, found dehydrated and wandering around in daylight.
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00:00 Hedgehogs are now endangered. Ten years ago their numbers were thought to be
00:04 around 60 million, currently there are around one and a half million. Each year
00:10 Freshfields Animal Rescue cares for approximately 500 hedgehogs suffering
00:15 from an array of ailments. Many are youngsters found dehydrated and
00:19 wandering around in daylight. So at the moment we have 83 hedgehogs and
00:24 typically throughout the year that can range from 75 to over 100. We work to
00:31 rescue, rehabilitate and re-release hedgehogs throughout the Liverpool and
00:37 Sefton area and the main goal is to just is to help them and get them back out to
00:43 live the lives they're supposed to. Staff at the rescue hand rear many young
00:47 hoglets each year, taking them home each evening whilst they're vulnerable and
00:52 require additional feeds. So sometimes we have complete juveniles come to us born
00:58 and born the day previously and that can be because the mother's been disturbed
01:02 and has abandoned them or something has happened to the mother itself and so
01:08 when we get these baby hogs in they can come in groups of six and they need
01:15 every three hours they need feeding and they need round-the-clock care so us as
01:22 the staff we take them home with us and we're getting up you know every few
01:26 hours in the night to feed them and then as they get older they start needing
01:31 different types of food. It's real specialist care basically. Many hedgehogs
01:36 are victims of road traffic accidents, some suffer burns in bonfires whilst
01:41 many are injured by strimmers, mowers and other garden implements. Hedgehogs also
01:46 suffer from many diseases and infections which can prove fatal if left untreated.
01:51 If there's a hedgehog out during the daytime, nine times out of ten that means
01:56 there's something going on. So if you see a hedgehog out during the day best thing
02:01 to do is contact a wildlife rescue whether it be us or someone in your
02:05 local area and have a discussion with them on whether this hog needs help. All
02:10 hedgehogs are treated by a vet throughout their stay at Freshfields and
02:14 remain at the shelter until they are healthy and large enough to successfully
02:19 hibernate. Many underweight hogs are overwintered and kept warm to prevent
02:24 hibernation. Once the ideal weight has been reached they're placed in an
02:28 outdoor runs to acclimatise before being released back into the wild. So when it
02:35 comes to caring for the animals one of the biggest costs is vet bills. Aside
02:41 from that we're always in need of towels, of food, papers, shredded paper but if
02:47 you wanted to look on our Facebook there's always we're always posting
02:52 about things that specifically we need in that moment. The decline in the
02:56 species has been swift and if action isn't taken we could lose these
03:00 fascinating creatures forever.