Hi Hettie,
I have to admit that I no longer shed a tear when I see a dead badger on the roads. On a recent journey between Nottingham and Sheffield I counted 7 casualties without even paying much attention, so they must be thriving – as long as they don’t live next to a main road that is!
A friend of mine, who feeds foxes and hedgehogs together with no issues, captured shocking evidence on her cctv not so long ago of a badger killing a hedgehog. Although I have not seen the footage, I have heard the graphic testimony. After first gaining the hedgehog’s trust and eating happily alongside, the badger suddenly turns and attacks. The blood curdling screams from the poor hedgehog – which last for almost half an hour – are so upsetting that most people who have seen it ask for the sound to be turned off! The most chilling thing for me about this attack, is that there was a dish of food available, yet the badger clearly preferred hedgehog!
Like Nic says, the biggest threat to hedgehogs is humans. If we didn’t keep building on every inch of the countryside they wouldn’t have to live in such close proximity to each other and compete for resources.
