New Zealand wants to eradicate the hedgehog | Abroad

The hedgehog was brought to New Zealand by British settlers several centuries ago. Unlike in Europe – where it is hunted by martens, foxes, badgers… and cars – the New Zealand hedgehog has few or no natural predators. The result: they can reproduce undisturbed and move en masse through forests and gardens. In the meantime, they devour native critters as if they were a sweetheart.

Except for a few bat species, New Zealand has no native land mammals. The bird population adapted to this by – like the kiwi – to settle on the ground and stop flying. When ermines, cats and pouches and rats were introduced in New Zealand, they immediately caused great damage. Rare insects were crushed, newly hatched chicks were killed, and bird’s eggs were gulped down.

Gluttony

And also the hedgehog is now doing more than his gluttonous thing. “It is becoming increasingly clear how much damage they are doing,” said researcher Nick Foster of the University of Otago. “A single hedgehog can eat countless lizards, bird eggs and wetas (large crickets, ed.). One study found no fewer than 283 weta legs in one hedgehog stomach. That means that the animal has devoured 60 of those crickets in barely 24 hours. ”

To limit more damage to native species, New Zealand has now drawn up a plan to eradicate all hedgehogs by 2050. The plan will come into effect in July, using a combination of trapping, hunting and poison.

Only problem: no one knows exactly how many hedgehogs there are in the country. Local media say there are “more hedgehogs in New Zealand than in Britain,” and estimates range from two to four hedgehogs per hectare. “There was once a plan to catch all hedgehogs alive and return them to Europe, but that proved unfeasible due to biosecurity, logistics and costs,” said Foster.

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