Garden cam reveals hidden lives of UK hedgehogs - Chester Zoo

New study finds food plays a major role in where hedgehogs choose to visit.

A major study led by Chester Zoo has uncovered new insights into how hedgehogs use gardens – and the impact of feeding them.

More than 400 households across Cheshire took part by setting up motion-sensitive cameras in their gardens. The result? Thousands of images capturing the elusive movements of one of Britain’s most loved, yet vulnerable, wild mammals.

The study, carried out in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University, forms part of our Hedgehog Watch project and is believed to be one of the largest garden wildlife camera studies in the UK.

Hedgehogs were recorded in 57% of gardens, showing how important private green spaces are for the species.

In fact, researchers found that food had the most significant impact on hedgehog activity:

• 78% of gardens offering hedgehog food recorded visits
• 53% of gardens with bird food on the ground saw hedgehogs
• Only 46% of gardens without any food had hedgehogs present
• But just 28% of the gardens surveyed were actively leaving out food for hedgehogs.