‘Backpack’ trackers and sniffer dog deployed to save Europe’s declining hedgehogs
Belfast: Researchers in Ireland have turned to GPS “backpacks” and a specially trained detection dog in a new effort to protect the common western European hedgehog, now listed as Near Threatened amid steep population declines.
The tracking project, led by Ulster Wildlife, fits hedgehogs with a small GPS device attached to the spine — described as a “tiny little backpack” — to map their nightly movements. The device is secured to the lower back of the animal.
Only male hedgehogs are fitted with trackers to avoid disturbing nesting females, the charity said.The data reveals exactly where hedgehogs travel each night, including how many gardens they pass through, the roads they navigate, where they find food, and where they rest.
To locate the nocturnal mammals, the project has also enlisted Ireland’s first hedgehog detection dog, specially trained to sniff them out in undergrowth and hedgerows.
The common western European hedgehog was recently listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, with habitat loss, road deaths, and pesticide use linked to declines across the continent.
Ulster Wildlife hopes the tracking insights will help communities and planners create safer corridors for hedgehogs, from garden gaps in fences to wildlife-friendly road crossings.
