The Secret Life of Hedgehogs
Most of us think we know hedgehogs. Small, spiky, vaguely cheerful creatures that shuffle through gardens at night and curl up obligingly when startled. But that familiar image barely scratches the surface.
The Secret Life of Hedgehogs reveals what really goes on when the lights go out. Drawing on modern research, long-term observation, and the overlooked details of everyday British landscapes, this book follows hedgehogs through their nightly journeys, secret feeding routes, awkward romances, hidden nests and perilous winters. It explores how hedgehogs actually experience the world - not through sight, but through scent, memory and habit - and how their lives intersect, often uneasily, with our own.
It follows hedgehogs through a world of roads, fences, tidy gardens and shrinking margins, revealing how a species built for hedgerows and rough ground now negotiates modern Britain night by night. Myths fall away, uncomfortable truths emerge, and familiar assumptions are quietly overturned as the hedgehog becomes something more than a garden curiosity - a living measure of how well our landscapes still function.
This is a book for anyone who has ever glimpsed a hedgehog crossing a path at dusk and wondered where it was going - and whether it would make it back again.
Did you know... - Hedgehogs can temporarily shut down large parts of their metabolism, allowing their body temperature to fall close to that of the surrounding air
- A hedgehog's sense of smell is so dominant that it can navigate familiar routes almost entirely without visual cues
- Hedgehogs sometimes chew toxic substances during a strange behaviour called self-anointing, deliberately spreading the residue over their spines
- Male hedgehogs may travel several times their normal nightly distance during the breeding season, dramatically increasing their risk of death
- Hedgehogs survived at least one mass extinction event - and are now declining because of garden fences and road layouts
The book has extensive appendices, including frequently asked questions, a seasonal checklist, an emergency guide, and additional practical information for anyone who wants to understand hedgehogs better without harming them.
Quiet, resilient and endlessly underestimated, hedgehogs have been slipping through the margins of British life for millions of years. The Secret Life of Hedgehogs finally brings their hidden lives into view.
