Tartu begins setting up winter shelters for hedgehogs
In the Estonian city of Tartu, special winter shelters for hedgehogs are being set up in various places, as suitable refuges made of branches and leaves are becoming scarcer. Kindergarten children helped build one in Toomemägi park.
Special winter shelters for hedgehogs are being set up in various parts of Tartu, a university city in Estonia. The animals are fairly common there, but suitable refuges made of branches and leaves, where they can hibernate, are becoming fewer. The report comes from the Russian-language portal of Estonian public broadcaster ERR.
Children help in the park
The Naerulinnud group from the Naerumaa kindergarten began its morning with a walk in Toomemägi park. The children did more than rustle through autumn leaves: they helped build winter houses for hedgehogs from them. Group teacher Gerli told the programme "Aktuaalne kaamera" that children enjoy helping animals. She recalled a case in which a child rescued a small hedgehog with an injured paw in their yard. The parents drove the animal to Keila to a foster family so that it could recover.
How to build a shelter
Hedgehogs usually enter hibernation in November but look for a place well in advance, so autumn is the right time to help. Animal ecology specialist Kaarin Hein explained that one should first find thick branches, 10 to 20 centimetres, and lay two of them side by side, then add a few thicker ones on top. Thinner twigs go over them like a roof, fitted closely together, and everything is covered with leaves. These fill the gaps, so the hedgehog inside need not fear rain, snow or wind.
Such a shelter can also be built in a home yard by choosing a quiet corner where the animal will not be disturbed. Hein stressed that dogs must be taken into account: if a family has one, it is better not to build the house at all, or else to place it where the dog cannot reach. Branches should be laid so that the hedgehog can crawl under them and possibly leave by another route. According to her, a wooden pallet is suitable as a base. She added that Tartu has quite a lot of hedgehogs, but they are seldom seen because they are active at dusk.
