The brown-breasted hedgehog(Erinaceus europaeus), one of the best-known native mammal species, is under increasing pressure. Although the hedgehog is a familiar sight in gardens, parks and cemeteries in Bavaria, its habitat is under threat in many places. The increasing sealing of surfaces and climate change are jeopardising the species and leading to a decline in the population.

Hedgehogs are specially protected under the Federal Nature Conservation Act and have an important ecological function as insectivores. Nevertheless, they are exposed to numerous dangers. In addition to the use of pesticides, which drastically reduces the food supply - especially insects - the loss of near-natural habitats through building development, sealing and high-maintenance ornamental gardens as well as the fragmentation of habitats through impermeable garden fences are also reasons for the decline in hedgehog populations. For this reason, the brown-breasted hedgehog is already on the early warning list of the Red List. This early warning list includes species that are not yet endangered, but whose population is declining due to current developments.

Due to their nocturnal lifestyle, hedgehogs are also increasingly threatened by unsecured ponds or light wells, a high number of traffic accidents at night and dangerous garden technology such as robotic lawnmowers. The animals curl up in danger instead of fleeing and can be injured or killed by the machines.

Protecting hedgehogs starts in your own garden. Garden owners can make a valuable contribution with simple measures:

• Leave piles of leaves and brushwood lying around to provide a daytime hiding place or winter quarters for hedgehogs,
• Wildflowers instead of ornamental lawns to promote insect diversity and thus ensure more food for hedgehogs,
• Do not use pesticides or slug pellets, as they not only poison pests, but also hedgehogs,
• Provide opportunities for hedgehogs to slip through garden fences to allow them to move around undisturbed,
• Secure sources of danger with exit aids at ponds and cellar shafts,
• Set up hedgehog houses as retreats if there are no natural hiding places,
• Set up drinking points with fresh water and
• Only use robotic lawnmowers during the day and leave natural retreat areas in the garden for hedgehogs.

The Bavarian State Office for the Environment provides further information and publications on hedgehog protection on its website(https://www.lfu.bayern.de/natur/bayaz/gartenvielfalt/arten_im_garten/igel/index.htm).

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the staff at the Environment and Green Spaces Agency by telephone on 08031 365-1690 or by e-mail at umweltamt(at)rosenheim.de.