蜜芽传媒

This bonus episode for 蜜芽传媒 Sounds explores the hedgehog - once a common sight in British gardens, now a creature in steep decline. Though myths abound, from Pliny the Elder鈥檚 tale of apple-gathering spines to Darwin鈥檚 strawberry-studded hedgehogs, the truth is more down-to-earth: hedgehogs are insectivores, not fruit collectors.

Their name is relatively modern; in Middle English they were known as 鈥渋rchouns鈥� or 鈥渦rchins,鈥� and even featured in medieval recipes as almond-studded pork canap茅s.
Hedgehogs were once everywhere - thirty million in the UK during the 1950s, more than the number of pigeons today. Now, fewer than a million remain. Pesticides, climate change, and the loss of hedgerows have devastated their numbers, turning a once-prolific species into a rare sight. Their decline is a quiet but urgent warning about the fragility of our ecosystems.

This episode is a tribute to the hedgehog鈥檚 cultural legacy and ecological importance. From ancient stories to modern conservation concerns, Katherine Rundell invites us to reconsider a creature we thought we knew - and to act before it disappears from our landscape entirely.

Presented and written by Katherine Rundell
Produced in Bristol for 蜜芽传媒 Audio by Natalie Donovan