Since October 2024, the hedgehog has been classified as potentially endangered on the Red List. Through intensive agriculture and steadily growing cities, the spiked carrier is displaced from its original habitat in the country and can now also be found more often in the cities. Fences and walls limit the habitat of the hedgehogs strongly. Even small measures can help make a garden more hedgehog.
With its small ears, the characteristic, pointed snout and the spiky back, the hedgehog is a popular wild animal, which used to be found primarily in the country. But the intensification of forestry and agriculture has strongly changed the habitat of the insect eater. By using monocultures and pesticides, many of its natural retreats and food sources have been lost. In Bavaria alone, the hedgehog population has halved in the past ten years, in October 2024 the World Natural Protection Union IUCN classified the animal on its red list to “potentially endangered”.
Igeltore for free paths
Due to the displacement from their original habitat, the spiky winter sleepers can also be found more often in settlement areas. However, the search for food and suitable shelves is often difficult for the animals in heavily cultivated gardens, parks and gravel surfaces. Without hedges and shrubs, hedgehogs can hardly find any retreats, and walls, fences and high curb edges make their search an obstacle course and also separate the animals from each other. This leaves them only a tiny area in which there is often not enough food, unless they want to risk the dangerous navigation over a sidewalk and road.
There are no official figures for Germany, but the German Wildlife Foundation estimates that around half a million hedgehogs are died in road traffic annually. In order to meet the needs of the hedgehogs and support their survival, she therefore launched the “Igeltore” project. The aim of the action is to combine gardens and parks with each other by creating small passages or ramps for hedgehogs. The walk -in network is intended to give igels the opportunity to hike between different habitats in search of food and safer, without having to switch to the street.
You should pay attention to this with igeltors
To help the hinges, garden owners can easily create a passage in their fences, walls or gates: a diameter of only 13 centimeters is enough for the IGELTORE. To do this, only a small section has to be cut into the fence or a gap in a wall has to be created. It is important that the passage lies directly on the ground so that the hedgehogs can easily get through. In addition, there should be no sharp or pointed corners on the sides of these passes, where the animals could injure themselves.
Ideally, the igeltor is located on the edge of the garden or near protective hedges and shrubs. These places offer the igars a feeling of security and enable them to move undisturbed and explore their surroundings. In addition, the passage should not point in the direction of the street to minimize the risk that the animals are led and run over there. If you also want to make your igeltor nicely, you can find the template for a goal frame and an explanatory video for installation on the website of the German Wildlife Foundation.
Ramps, water spots and shrubs
In addition to Igeltors, small ramps offer further help for the small animals. Hedgehogs are about 20 to 30 centimeters tall, but have short legs and a compact body shape. This makes high curbs or low walls and separations a challenge or even an insurmountable obstacle. With a small piece of wood, however, you can easily build a ramp that bridges such height differences. Water points on the floor, dense hedges and shrubs as well as leafsticks in the garden also ensure that the spiked carriers feel comfortable.
On the website of the German Wildlife Foundation, interested parties can enter their igeltore, water points, leaf piles or hedgehogs in an interactive card. In this way, participants can see where hedgehog aids have already been created. If you take a picture of your igeltor, you can get a small badge from the German Wildlife Foundation. With this, the passage can be identified as an official igeltor. This shows other garden owners that an important connection for the hedgehogs, which should remain open.
Risk of injury from lawnmowers and hedge trimmer
One of the greatest dangers after road traffic are still injuries from hedge trimmers or lawnmowers in spring. The animals can also violate or poison strong, chemical frenzy fertilizers. According to an investigation by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, almost half of the animals do not survive these injuries. They have to be put to sleep. So before it goes to trim or fertilizing in spring, it should be carefully checked whether hedgehogs may have hidden in the bushes or sleep there.