Hedgehogs search out places to hibernate at this time of year

Fears that hedgehogs could die after hibernating in bonfires are being made by wildlife groups across Wales.

The Deeside Urban Wildlife Group (DUWG) advises that people should build Bonfire Night fires teepee-style, so they can easily check for hedgehogs shortly before lighting them.

The South and West Wales Wildlife Trust is also concerned about the effect of burning the wrong kind of materials on bonfires.

It recommends that only clean wood and plant vegetation should be burned - not potentially noxious materials like tyres, painted wood, or plastic.

The trust urges that these items, and other household waste should be disposed of at council waste depots.

Hedgehogs are particularly at risk on Bonfire night because they are preparing for their annual winter sleep at this time of year, and bonfires provide ideal nesting sites.

People are also being warned not to burn noxious materials on bonfires

Clare Christian, DUWG Community Wildlife Officer sad: "Hedgehogs hibernate during the winter months, from November to March, under hedges, sheds and piles of dead leaves and sticks.

"A bonfire will be very inviting in this cold, wet weather."

She said that a teepee-style bonfire could be filled just before being lit, after checking with a torch to see if any hedgehogs have crawled inside.

Hedgehogs are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

They are seen to be of great value to gardeners because they naturally control populations of slugs and snails.

But Mike Whitley, Denbighshire's Biodiversity Officer, said hedgehog numbers were dropping.

"Population decline is possibly due to increased road development and loss of habitat such as scrub and hedgerow," he said.

"Another possible factor in their decline is garden ponds which have no shelf for animals to crawl out on, as well as the use of garden pesticides and herbicides which destroy the food chain."