Warwick - A Prickly Affair The Charm of the Hedgehog

Part One
Them and Us

Part Two
Obsession

Part Three
Save the Hedgehog Save the World

This book would not have been possible without the work of Pat Morris and Nigel Reeve. Their research, and the accessible way in which it has been presented, have opened up the world of hedgehogs to thousands of people.

Helen Conford had far more faith in me than I did and welcomed me into the fold at Penguin, steering the process of writing. And the rest of the team wow we have had a lot of good cake. Thank you.

Dave Shepherds illustrations have constantly made me smile.

Poppy Toland was the perfect guide and interpreter for my visit to China. And in America, Zug Standing Bear and Virginia Lynch opened their beautiful home and introduced me to the amazing world of hedgehog-pet-keeping. Thanks also to the International Hedgehog Association and the Hedgehog Welfare Society for inviting me, and to Kari Espelien, Donnasue Graesser and all their members who made for such a memorable experience.

Thanks to Fay Vass, at the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, who put up with an awful lot of random and urgent requests; and also to my fellow trustees, who help keep the society in fine fettle.

Throughout Britain there are hundreds of hedgehog carers, many of whom have helped. In particular, I must thank those who have allowed me to nose around their hedgehogs: Louise Brockbank, Dru Burdon, Janis Dean, Elaine Drewrey, Caroline Gould, Sue Kidger, Barbara Roberts and Les Stocker. Special mention must go to Gay and Andy Christie at Hessilhead for helping to save over a thousand Uist hedgehogs, on top of everything else they do.

I have tolerant friends who have heard me talk about this book for years. In the end it was Paul Kingsnorth, along with his wife, Nav Chhina, who helped create the breakthrough by introducing me to his now our agent, Patrick Walsh, who gave me the confidence to present the book to the wider world.

The strength of friendship has been vital not just the support that I have received, but also the fact that so many of my friends have already written wonderful books. So, to Jay Griffiths, Mark Lynas, George Marshall and George Monbiot, I thank you for showing me it is possible.

Many other friends have helped hold my hand through the inevitable stresses of writing a book, in particular Theo and Shannon of the worlds greatest band, Seize the Day, and Debbie and Graeme in Chesters Rainforest. Anne, Edward and Simon, thank you for your love and support. I realize that this list is probably dreadfully incomplete, so let me just say that these are some of the people who have made this project possible: Olaf Bayer, Elise Benjamin, Gillie Bonner, Roz Kidman Cox, Nansy Eimhjellen, Christophe Fraiser, Sandy Kennedy, Caroline Lowes, Gordon Maclellan, Ross Minett, Maria Parker, Els Payne, Phil Pritchard, Kerry Seel, Ulli Seewald, Craig Simmons, Ricarda Steinbrecher, Oliver and Lisbet Tickell, Rowan Tilley, Douglas and Melissa Walker, Lyn Wells, Kevin Woodbridge, Derek Yalden and Jin Yufang.

My family have put up with a lot. I have foisted most of the childcare on to my wife, Zo. I owe her so much. And Mati and Pip, despite all the sleep you have stolen from me, the look of love and excitement on your faces as you discover the world around you is more than enough to see me through the hardest times.

My parents love and support have always been so very important. They read and commented on earlier incarnations of most of the chapters, which gave me a real sense of whether I was making any sense. But my father died before the book was finished. I wish he hadnt. I hope that this would have made him proud.

The evening had started, as they all do, with Jerusalem. My talk had roamed across Englands green and pleasant land, all the way up to the furthest Scottish islands. The audience had been expecting a lecture about the biology, ecology and physiology of hedgehogs. What they got was what my audiences always get, stories. The best lecturers I have had have not lectured, they have told stories that have stayed with me, and that is what I try and do whenever I get to talk to my favourite audience, the Womens Institute.

I had talked for an hour, including a moderate barrage of questions, and was about to sink my teeth into a slice of superbly moist coffee and walnut cake when the questions began again. During the talk they had all been quite practical: why are we seeing fewer hedgehogs; how can we make our gardens more hedgehog-friendly; arent they all covered in fleas; and how do they mate? But as usual, when I joined the good women of Islip for tea and cake, the balance shifted. The questions moved from the practical to the more personal: how long have I been involved with hedgehogs; what got me started and perhaps the most frequently posed why?

Over the years of talking to groups like the WI it has been these questions that have encouraged my absorption into the hedgehog world. Trained as an ecologist, I was already innately interested in the workings of hedgehogs. But what these opportunities allowed was for me to begin to question my own motives.

Why was I interested in hedgehogs? Well, to be honest it started out over twenty years ago in a very pragmatic way an opportunity to do something interesting as a project for my degree. But as I got to spend more time in the company of hedgehogs, I became drawn further into their world a poorly investigated world at that. There were basic aspects of hedgehog ecology to be uncovered, but that was not all; there was also an attendant peculiarity to observe. Not just in the undeniable cuteness of the little animal, but in the eccentricities that attach themselves to those most fond of them. Because the world of hedgehogs is inextricably tied up with the world of people. Not just in greetings cards and childrens stories, but deeper politics, passion and obsession.