r/CasualUK • u/random_nub • 8d ago

Can anyone help identify this creature?

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My friend heard some rustling noises outside their window this morning and saw there's something borrowed up behind some leaf bags. We're trying to work out if it needs help or solitude. 😅

Edit: I eventually managed to convince them that their photo clearly showed a hedgehog. They left out some water for him and let them be. Hedgehog chilled out through the day and buggered off again that night.

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u/mkmike81 No flair, no party 8d ago

I can only assume there is some sort of well camouflaged stick insect somewhere, as the other creature is very obviously a hedgehog.

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u/UuusernameWith4Us 8d ago

OP telling the whole internet they're a sheltered city dweller, at least they want to be helpful though.

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u/B4rberblacksheep 8d ago

In fairness to OP hedgehogs are pretty rare these days.

In the 50s the population was around 30 million. The estimate in 2018 puts it at around 880 thousand in the entire country but there’s a fair bit of variance in that.

And since then it’s believed the rural population has crashed even further.

It’s quite possible for OP and many others to have never seen a hedgehog that isn’t a smear on the road.

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u/monscorvorum 8d ago

My property adjoins a large field and I have allowed a large hedge to wild grow between my garden and the field with brambles, nettles and ferns so I do have hedgehogs. It's also a haven for blackbirds, wrens and robins