They must be safe, in a suitable distance from busy roads, in areas with no risk of flooding and covered by thickets and bushes. Ekostraż volunteers are now seeking such locations to find a new home for hedgehogs saved by environmental activists.
Ekostraż volunteers say that hedgehogs are more difficult to release into the wild than any other animals. In the wild, hedgehogs choose to live in the human shadow. However, the human environment is also the main cause of hedgehog mortality. They die in grass fires or when people clean their gardens or, in especially large numbers, on the roads. As you release a hedgehog into the wild, you need to find a safe spot for the animal to survive. You can always release it anywhere, but the animal is nearly 100% sure to suffer as a result. "If you choose a wrong location, your previous work comes to nought," explain Ekostraż volunteers.
Hence the idea to find gardens in Lower Silesia for the hedgehogs to be free, happy and out of harm's way. No restricted areas are suitable for animals to enjoy their life on their own. It must be emphasised that hedgehogs saved by Ekostraż volunteers or other environmental groups are nobody's property and they are not pets. "We have launched our campaign to find a suitable environment where you can put a feeder or a watering place for the hedgehogs," says Ekostraż's Facebook page.
If you know any safe locations for hedgehogs to be released, please contact us at: 605 78 22 14, 605 78 22 14 (mobile) or [email protected] (email). Please remember to send the photos of the area!
Ekostraż have developed a set of criteria for releasing hedgehogs into the wild:
1. There must be other hedgehogs in the area.
2. There are no busy or congested transport routes in the area.
3. There is no risk of flooding or inundation and no water reservoirs with steep banks in the area.
4. The area must be overgrown, i.e. covered with thickets and vegetation, or it must provide other potential shelter for hedgehogs.
5. It is possible to rearrange the space to create and maintain a simple feeder or a box for hedgehogs.
6. There must be an enclosed pen and constant care for hedgehogs which are completely and permanently unable to survive in the wild (blind or with amputated limbs, etc.).
