German Wildlife Foundation - The hedgehog is the animal of the year 2024
It is just 20 centimetres high and has around 6,000 spines: the hedgehog has been voted Animal of the Year 2024. The German Wildlife Foundation announced that the brown-breasted hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), which is widespread throughout almost the whole of Germany, had clearly won out over the squirrel and the red fox. The foundation's donors had voted. They have been doing this since 2017 to draw attention to the endangerment of a wild animal, the threat to its habitat or a human-wildlife conflict.
In the case of hedgehogs, the main issue is that they are finding fewer and fewer suitable habitats. "This means that a wild animal has won the Animal of the Year award that every child probably knows - but which is finding it increasingly difficult in our cultural landscape," said wildlife biologist and foundation director Klaus Hackländer. In the countryside, tidy agricultural landscapes have replaced the hedges, copses and species-rich rough pastures that used to be common.
The hedgehog population is gradually declining
Hedgehogs are therefore moving into gardens and green spaces in residential areas. According to estimates, there are now up to nine times as many hedgehogs there as in the countryside. Gravel gardens, sealed surfaces, cars and mowing robots are making life difficult for the spiny creatures here too. The hedgehog is reportedly on the Red List of Mammals in Germany in the "early warning list" category and its population is gradually declining.
If you want to help this nocturnal animal and hibernator, allow wild corners in your garden where hedgehogs can hide, give birth and sleep. The most recent animals of the year were porpoises, otters, moles, deer and wildcats.
Read also:
- Despite being named 'Animal of the Year 2024', the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is currently listed on the Red List of Mammals in Germany in the "early warning list" category, indicating its population is gradually declining.
- The German Wildlife Foundation, recognizing the threat to hedgehogs, encourages people to allow wild corners in their gardens where these spiky creatures can find suitable habitats to hide, give birth, and sleep.
- Science and nature enthusiasts in Hamburg, Germany, might be interested to know that the hedgehog, with its 6,000 spines, was chosen as the Animal of the Year 2024 by the foundation's donors as a means to draw attention to its endangerment.
- Conflicts between humans and animals are a concern highlighted by the foundation, which has been voting for an Animal of the Year since 2017 to bring focus to wildlife welfare issues.
- There have been various animals selected as 'Animal of the Year' in the past, such as porpoises, otters, moles, deer, and wildcats, each representing their unique challenges in natural habitats.
Source: www.stern.de
