We were out for a late evening walk to the river and I was so delighted when this young hedgehog came out of the grass and wandered right up to me. He was no bigger then the palm of my hand. I gave him a drink of water and off he went back into the grass, and we carried on to the river.
The main shot isn't an attempt at an arty crop, I put my camera on the ground right in front of him and hoped for the best.
Aw isn't he sweet. I used to love seeing hedgehogs in the garden when we lived in the UK. We don't get them here. The nearest to a hedgehog is our echidna.
They are just so cute. I wish we had them here!! I noticed several people saying they hadn't seen one for a long while. I hope they are not too vulnerable. So many good shots of him in your collage.
@robz The decline in the UK is shocking Rob in 1950 numbers were estimated to be 36 million. In 2013 it was down to 1 million. We are so lucky to have one visit our garden now and again, we did put out a hedgehog house but I have no idea if it is used (I don't like to peek and disturb it)
@suzanne234 That is so sad!! It's very like many of our small mammals - they have been decimated by feral cats. The cats are such a problem because you rarely see them (even though there are literally millions of them) but they hunt at night and are such efficient predators. I should imagine these little fellows would be easy prey? How very sad....
@robz I read that their only natural predator is Badger, but I'm sure dogs will kill them, they would be quite tricky though because they roll into a spikey ball when threatened. The main reasons for the decline are are habitat loss, and an increase in housing and other developments. Tens of thousands are killed by road traffic each year. It is such a shame, they are delightful creatures, who also happen to eat the garden slugs!
