– It didn’t take long before they found their way through the pipe and under the stairs. The hedgehog has a good sense of smell, so it’s probably the smell of food that makes them come, says Nils Henrik Rønning. If you take a look under the stairs in front of his house, you will find more than just weeds and soil. Here, Rønning has built an ever so small hedgehog hotel – or “Piggi Plaza”, as he jokingly calls it himself. Through a narrow tube, the spiny crabs can sneak into a room where they find a place to sleep, water and food. – Cat food is on the menu. It’s the right to life, laughs Rønning. A young hedgehog enjoys the menu. Photo: Nils Henrik Rønning The hedgehog enthusiast from Brekstad in Ørland municipality in Trøndelag has had an open invitation to all hedgehogs in the area since 2016. At most, 11 hedgehogs have lived under the stairs at the same time, but it has fluctuated from year to year. – Last year there was hardly anyone there, but now I have four or five people who come and go, says Rønning. The hedgehog enthusiast has also been mentioned by Fosna-Folket. Through a hatch at the top of the stairs, Nils Henrik Rønning can have an overview of the small den and put out new food and drink. Photo: Private – In the process of disappearing, Rønning got involved via the Facebook group Pinnsvin i Ørland, where several like-minded people in the local area share experiences and tips on how best to take care of the animals. That people care in this way is very important to help the hedgehog to survive, believes Ingrid Fosse of the organization Pinnsvinhjelpen. Last year, the species ended up on the red list of endangered species in Norway. – The hedgehog is about to disappear. Every year there are fewer of them, says Fosse. – An important reason for this is that there is less food for them. The hedgehog mainly eats insects, explains Fosse, and insects have also become fewer in recent years – mainly due to the intensification of agriculture, as well as the use of pesticides and artificial fertilisers. There have been fewer hedgehogs in recent years, and in addition, the young are often small, as a result of malnutrition. Photo: Nils Henrik Rønning According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), climate change, traffic, road construction and modern garden decorations consisting of more stone and concrete are also , reasons for the decline among hedgehogs. Not least, robotic lawnmowers are also a threat. Nils Henrik Rønning says that he has had to care for several hedgehogs that have had their necks and foreheads cut by robotic clippers. – People are welcome to have robotic mowers, but the message is not to let them run in the evening and at night, but only during the day, to spare the hedgehogs, he says. – They are nocturnal and mostly out at night. This hedgehog was cared for by Nils Henrik Rønning after it had had an unpleasant encounter with a robotic lawnmower. Photo: Nils Henrik Rønning Free gardener and caretaker According to Rønning, it is important to take care of the hedgehogs not just because they are cute. – They are useful animals for the garden. They keep the garden free of vermin and eat insects you don’t want there, says Rønning. – Among other things, they eat snail eggs, and in that way keep the brown snail population in check. Ingrid Fosse of Pinnsvinhjelpen calls the hedgehog our common gardener and caretaker. – All animals and insects have their function in nature. The hedgehog is a jack of all trades and, among other things, keeps the garden tidy, completely free of charge, she says. Hedgehogs are experts at keeping the garden tidy. Photo: Nils Henrik Rønning If more people want to help the hedgehog, putting out food is the most important thing you can do. – Then it’s cat food and water that apply. In the past, you used to put out milk, but this gives the hedgehog stomach catarrh, which can be fatal, says Fosse. She adds that it is then wise to do as Nils Henrik Rønning; to build your own food station or hedgehog house with a narrow entrance, to keep cats and carnivores away from the food. And not least to keep the badgers away from the hedgehogs. Ingrid Fosse has been involved in the welfare of hedgehogs for many years. Photo: Ina-Kristin Lindin / news No pets In addition to having a permanent hotel for the hedgehogs under his stairs, Nils Henrik Rønning also made his own house and a small park in the garden for four hedgehog babies he fostered a few years ago. – They had lost their mother, and then they were allowed to be in a safe environment out in my garden until they were big enough to fend for themselves, he says. This little group was Nils Henrik Rønning’s foster father. Photo: Nils Henrik Rønning For Rønning, having the hedgehogs around him is rewarding, fun and cozy. But he emphasizes that they are not pets. – Some want nothing to do with people, while others are very tame and used to people. You get someone to touch, scratch and lift, but at the same time you shouldn’t do that, he says. – They are wild animals, and then they must be allowed to be wild. Wild animals also need to sleep. Here, a hedgehog has made himself comfortable in the small bedroom in the hedgehog hotel. Photo: Nils Henrik Rønning
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Has built a hedgehog hotel in Ørland – more people should help the endangered species, says the Hedgehog Aid – news Trøndelag
