Road traffic is putting smaller hedgehog populations at risk of collapse

A new study involving the University of Cambridge has found that road traffic kills between 15-29% of hedgehogs in local populations each year.

The study, funded by The British Hedgehog Preservation Society and People’s Trust for Endangered Species, investigated how road traffic deaths impact local hedgehog populations of different sizes in the short and longer term.

It found that despite having the highest number of traffic-related deaths, larger hedgehog populations are able to offset these losses through higher overall survival and reproductive rates - plus the fact that most hedgehogs killed on roads are males, which move around more than females in the search for mates.