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– I have dedicated my entire life and my research to protecting hedgehogs and to finding out why they are in such steep decline and how we can stop it. That is why I am honoured to have been appointed the expert responsible for collating and assessing the data needed to establish exactly how serious the situation is for the European hedgehog. This is the first step towards being able to launch initiatives that can prevent the hedgehogs from becoming extinct, says Sophie Lund Rasmussen, who also goes by the nickname ‘Dr Hedgehog’.
Sophie Lund Rasmussen has been invited to speak in the European Parliament in November at a session dedicated to the decline of the hedgehog population and what the EU and its member states can do to stop this decline.
Several threats to hedgehogsThe decline in the hedgehog population is caused by a variety of factors, all of which are man-made. These include traffic, which kills an estimated one-third of the hedgehog population every year. Other reasons include intensified agricultural practices and housing developments , which are destroying the hedgehogs’ natural habitats. Also, hedgehogs suffer a lot of accidents in our gardens. For example, Sophie Lund Rasmussen’s research discovered the world’s oldest hedgehog, Thorvald, who reached the age of 16 years, and died due to wounds inflicted by a dog attack. Research also shows that some models of robotic lawn mowers can pose a danger to hedgehogs.
– As their natural habitats are destroyed, hedgehogs are increasing inhabiting residential gardens. Therefore, the battle to save the hedgehogs will take place in our own backyards. By teaching garden owners how to make their gardens hedgehog-friendly, we can improve the living conditions and survival chances for these charismatic and highly beneficial animals, says Sophie Lund Rasmussen.
Denmark lacks dataUnfortunately, we lack data documenting the decline in Denmark, but to fill this data gap, hedgehog researcher Sophie Lund Rasmussen is running the ‘Danmarks Pindsvin’ conservation campaign with the WWF Denmark, asking Danes to help map the hedgehog population in Denmark.
Reference: Gazzard A, Macdonald DW, Lund Rasmussen S. European hedgehog’s ‘near threatened’ listing raises concerns for an iconic species. Nature. 2024;634(8036):1053-1053. doi: 10.1038/d41586-024-03516-w
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Publish date : 2024-11-01 03:24:00
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