ISLANDERS planning bonfire celebrations this weekend are being urged to check piles of wood and logs for hedgehogs that may be using it as a home.
Gill Morgan, from the Jersey Hedgehog Preservation Group, has issued guidance to those hosting small gatherings and commercial organisers of larger bonfire displays after a hedgehog died after being burnt in a blaze.
“This one did not survive, having thought it had found a home for the winter in a lovely pile of logs and leaves,” she said.
She encouraged people to carefully dismantle and reposition firewood before lighting it to ensure no hedgehogs have settled in the piles, which the animals often use as winter homes as they prepare for hibernation.
Hedgehogs, unlike other mammals, tend to curl up in a ball rather than run away at the first sign of danger, she said.
This situation puts them at risk of being burnt if they are accidentally trapped in a burning woodpile.
“If you are setting a bonfire this 5 November, please check carefully before lighting it,” the animal-rescuer said.
“If possible, build the bonfire on the day you are setting it alight so that you know no hedgehog has taken up residence.”
“They have no real predators in Jersey except for us humans,” Ms Morgan added. “With numbers in decline, we really need to be looking out for them.”
