When I started out studying hedgehogs, the idea of affordable cameras that could be left out to collect data were a fantasy! Now I would suggest there are more out there than people know what to do with! So - here is a way you can put them to good use to help hedgehogs!
For an opportunity to comment and share your experiences, please pop over to the Substack version of this update as this platform destroyed the commenting capacity (along with all the lovely and supportive comments!)
Researchers at Nottingham Trent University want you to get your trail cameras involved in a collecting new information on hedgehog locations and abundance.
Our hedgehogs have, as I am sure you are aware, undergone a considerable decline in recent decades and the species is currently listed as ‘near threatened’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Capturing new information from private gardens could help support conservation efforts, the researchers say. Gardens can be challenging areas to study, due to access limitations, yet they remain an important habitat.
The project, ‘Spot a hog’ is open to anyone in the UK with a camera trap.
Participants on the project will receive advice on how to adjust and calibrate their cameras so that they are suitable for the study.
All the captured images will be submitted to citizen science platform MammalWeb where they will be assessed and the data analysed. If people don't own a camera trap they can still help with this stage by registering as a 'Spotter' to support the team in identifying what is in the images.
The study aims to initially understand if people’s private cameras – and a citizen science approach – can be utilised effectively for estimating garden hedgehog population size. It will then be used for future monitoring programmes.
You may remember be writing about the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme - well this project is using a similar methodology to that project - but the big difference is that this will be looking at gardens.
'To identify why hedgehogs are in decline and which habitats sustain healthy hedgehog populations, we need high quality data from across the country,' said Paulina Pawlikowska, who is carrying out the work as part of her PhD research in the university’s School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences.
'Trail cameras are widely used by researchers for wildlife monitoring, with some amazing initiatives, but we know that they are also increasingly used by people to observe wildlife in their gardens. The work is also important as we know that hedgehogs are increasingly observed in urban rather than rural areas.
'We want to test the potential of using privately owned cameras for monitoring the abundance of hedgehogs in our gardens, which will ultimately help with their conservation.
'Anyone who has a camera trap in their garden can contribute their footage to the survey by uploading content to the platform.'
Dr Henrietta Pringle, National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme Coordinator at People’s Trust for Endangered Species and The British Hedgehog Preservation Society, added: ‘The National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme is a pioneering research project that aims to gather new information on native hedgehogs through a world-first combination of trail cameras, AI and home-based volunteers.
'Spot a Hog will perfectly complement this by using the same methods, but empowering people at home to contribute their own camera footage to help conservationists understand urban hedgehog populations.'
Anyone interested in participating in the survey should visit the project’s website.