Hedgehogs Steer Clear of Busy Roads
30 Jun 2015Hedgehogs have all but disappeared in central London. However, a recently discovery of a small population of hedgehogs have managed to survive in this highly populated and high traffic part of London, escaping extinction for the entire population of hedgehogs in the city.
The busy roads of central London are one of the major reasons for the sharp decline of the hedgehog population in central London. The population that has managed to escape the brink of extinction have been able to do so because they learned how to avoid the busy roads, according to a recent study.
At one time, hedgehogs lived in large numbers across the United Kingdom, but in the past 60 years, their population has rapidly decreased. One of the leading causes of the death of these animals is traffic-related accidents. In other words, the hedgehogs population has been depleted as a result of being hit by motorists.
While the hedgehog population has sharply declined all over the UK, central London has experienced the biggest decline because of its exceptionally high amounts of traffic. However, in Regents Park, a small population of these creatures has been discovered, and recent studies suggest that the reason for this is because they have learned how to stay away from the busy roads.
A representative of the Royal Parks Foundation, Clare Bowen, reported that several of the hedgehogs in Regents Park have been tagged with GPS tracking devices, which has allowed scientists to keep track of their behaviors and their movements. All recordings have conclusively shown that the hedgehogs never leave the park and thus never have to cross the main roads, which have claimed the lives of the vast majority of these animals.
Another indicator that these central London hedgehogs have learned how to avoid busy roads is that there is absolutely no presence of dead hedgehogs resulting from being struck by cars in the area around Regents Park.
There are a total of five main parks in central London, including St James, Hyde, Green, Kensington Gardens and Regents Parks and hedgehogs once resided in all of them; however, today, there are no longer hedgehogs in the latter four parks and the only ones that remain are in Regents Park.
In addition to GPS tracking, radio tags and thermal imaging cameras were used to study the hedgehogs.
The data that has been recorded about the hedgehogs that do reside in Regents Park has lead to changes in habitat management of these creatures. The locations and the amount of grass cuttings have been modified to make the park friendlier to hedgehogs.
Additionally, the grassland that is next to hedges in the park will be allowed to grow longer in order to give the hedgehogs a safer haven to live. And, similar actions will be taken throughout other green spaces in London to make the city headghog-friendly once again.
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