WATCH: Help hedgehogs avoid being burned

Friday 02 November 2018

Remember, remember, this fifth of November... there might be hedgehogs hiding in your plot.

As Bonfire Night approaches, the head of the Jersey Hedgehog Preservation Group is urging islanders to check their piles for any signs of a spiny mammal before lighting it on fire, to avoid any hedgehog getting burned.

Dru Burdon says that bonfire piles look like an inviting place for hedgehog to nest, and that islanders should check them before lighting them up, even if they have been only been up for one night.

Dru has been rescuing hedgehogs since 1992 and has cared for thousands of little mammals in her time. She says that Bonfire Night is always a great worry to her due to concerns that hedgehogs will get burned or get injured. Dru explained that when a hedgehog is scared, its natural reaction is to roll over and stay put, rather than running away like a dog or cat would. It's for that reason she fears that they risk being burned in bonfires.

Pictured: Dru Burdon says that hedgehogs can nest in bonfire piles.

To avoid any such incidents this November, Dru has contacted the Parishes holding big bonfires to make sure they check the pile they have built weeks ahead. She is also urging islanders to take precautions too if they are having a bonfire in their garden, or simply burning green waste.

“It is a very dangerous time for hedgehogs,” she told Express. “In your own garden, if you are having a private bonfire or a garden bonfire, then just move the pile. Don’t set fire to a pile of garden rubbish that has been there for weeks or even one night, because a hedgehog could have made a nest in there.

“The only safe thing to do is to move the stuff as you go and make a new bonfire in a new site next door to the original pile. Obviously to a hedgehog any pile of garden, brushwood, any sort of leaves and branches, it just looks like a lovely place to nest. They think ‘Oh lovely I’ll just move in here.’ They don’t know someone is going to come along and set fire to it.”

Pictured: Dru is currently caring for three small hedgehogs found in St. Ouen.

As the weather gets colder, Dru is also urging islanders to keep putting out food and water in their garden for the hogs. They enjoy cat and dog food, whether it's dry biscuits or meat.

She explained that hedgehogs do not hibernate through the whole winter but regularly wake up and may come out looking for food if it is mild. Dru says that leaving out food for them can mean the difference between life and death for young hedgehogs who need to weigh at least 550g to 600g to survive the winter.

Dru's advice comes at the end of a busy and tragic summer. "July was our worst month ever," she said. "We had 119 - we have never had that before, not even in November, which is normally our busiest month. Our busiest November ever we had 116."

Pictured: A lot of hogs died this summer after being hit by strimmers while people were doing work in their gardens.

Sadly, Dru says that most of the hedgehogs that arrived to her Waterworks Valley-based sanctuary didn't make it. They had to be put to sleep, as they couldn't survive the injuries caused by strimmers. "It was a triple whammy. The weather was very hot when people had to do their branchage. Hedgehogs were not in their nests, they were out with their nose out in the long grass when people strimmed. 

"Then the summer was so dry and so hot that even if they were not hurt, we had adults not getting enough food. When the ground is so hard they can't dig for food, they were starving. We also had tiny hedgehogs that were too small for their age. A lot of them didn’t survive because they had been starving for so long.

"It was a tough summer all round, it was horrible."

Pictured: Dru has released 368 hedgehogs so far this year.

Luckily, thanks to Dru and her team of helpers 368 hedgehogs were released into the wild after receiving care.

While the Jersey Hedgehog Preservation Group does not receive States funding, Dru says islanders have been very generous with their donations, whether in the form of money, through purchases from the Group's Amazon Wishlist, or packages left on Dru's doorstep.

"Islanders care about the hedgehogs and they have always supported us. It's really important for us because we are busy all year round. February is the only 'quieter' month, but then again it depends on the weather."

Watch Express' video to learn about how to look out for hedgehogs...