We hope to confirm hedgehog numbers and release dates shortly, with the aim of carrying out the release in the middle of June. The hospital will confirm how many hedgehogs will be ready, and once I have that information I will update everyone who has registered. I suspect we may not have enough for all applicants, so if necessary I will draw names at random and let you know the outcome.
This year’s release will work a little differently, as the hedgehogs will be tagged for identification. The tags are attached to individual spines in a small cluster; they naturally fall off over time and cause no harm. Our hedgehogs will have pale‑blue tags marked with both a number and “SWCC”. These will show up on cameras, although the details may not always be readable. To help with identification, each hedgehog’s tag pattern will be applied in a recognisable cluster, photographed before release, and uploaded to the HogBlog for reference.
We will also be providing a SurveyMonkey link for reporting sightings.
To make this a success, we need to encourage everyone in the village to keep their eyes peeled and submit any sightings. Every report helps us track their movements and understand the success of the rehoming.