Denmark hedgehog population declines in annual count

The annual national hedgehog count in Denmark has revealed a significant decline in the hedgehog population. This year, participants recorded 16,884 hedgehogs, a notable drop from the 21,374 recorded the previous year.

Researchers from the Natural History Museum of Denmark and Oxford University suggest that record-breaking heat and dry summer conditions may be responsible for the decline. Sophie Lund Rasmussen, a researcher specializing in hedgehogs, noted that many citizens reported hedgehogs disappearing from their gardens between June and July. This pattern of mortality due to lack of food and water has also been observed in Southern Europe during heatwaves.

Data from the citizen science project indicates that the proportion of participants who failed to spot a hedgehog rose from 10.8% last year to 16.7% this year. The highest rate of unsuccessful sightings was recorded in the Capital Region, where 22.3% of observers reported no sightings.