Hedgehog in Berlin: Red alarm level! Crowded station overcrowded and in need!

Hedgehog in Berlin: Red alarm level! Crowded station overcrowded and in need!

In Berlin-Hermsdorf, the hedgehog sanctuary is faced with an alarming Situation: With 80 animals accommodated, the capacities of 55 stables have been far exceeded, while Gabriele Gaede from the Igel Protection Working Group reports that an additional 20 to 30 hedgehogs are provided at home. The station has already started 830 hedgehogs this year - and where the decline in the hedgehog population is worrying. As the main cause, the state representative for animal welfare, Kathrin Herrmann, mentions the loss of habitats, due to road construction, sealing of floors and the disappearance of food sources. These factors force hedgehogs closer to the people, where they are often in danger.

The critical location of the hedgehogs

The problem is intensified by the decline in volunteers who are urgently needed, as well as a decreasing willingness of the citizens to consider hedgehog ads. The problem described also has a health aspect: many animals that are brought to the station are injured, sick or underweight - a weight of at least 600 grams is essential to survive hibernation. The situation is currently so tense that the station thinks about new premises in order to create more space for the animals. Food and medication donations are also urgently needed, as Gaede emphasizes.

The mention of the "Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome", an incurable disease that can fall some hedgehogs, and the awareness that many forest sails have to live through the loss of natural habitats is particularly alarming. This makes them more susceptible to different dangers. The German Wildlife Foundation chose the hedgehog as the animal of 2024 to draw attention to the threat. This year, the Western European hedgehog was for the first time as "potentially endangered" on the Red List of the World Natural Protection Union, which underlines the urgency of the situation. The reports of Tagesspiegel.de and Igelverein.de make it clear that both short-term help and sustainable solutions are necessary to ensure the survival of the hedgehog