A new initiative is to be launched in a bid to encourage people to help protect hedgehogs as numbers of the mammal "dramatically" decline across Europe.
Elaine O'Riordan from the University of Galway's School of Natural Sciences and the Ryan Institute said: "Across Europe the numbers [of hedgehogs] have declined quite dramatically.
"In Britain, for example, the numbers have declined up to half in the last 20 years, and in some rural areas it's even up to 75%, so it's quite serious," she said.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme, Ms O'Riordan said a new initiative will be launched in Dublin tomorrow called Hedgehog Conservation Ireland.
She said those behind the initiative are trying to get people to be active in protecting the species and to develop a conservation strategy.
"Four of us who are hedgehog enthusiasts and researchers have gotten together and we are trying to get this group going to get people active in protecting hedgehogs and to develop a hedgehog conservation strategy for Ireland," she said.
"People love hedgehogs. People see them as the gardener's friends because they eat slugs, snails and bugs in the garden. They don't cause any harm so they're generally really well-regarded. We've done very little work or research on hedgehogs in Ireland so there's a lot to learn about the species here," Ms O'Riordan explained.
As to why hedgehog numbers are declining, Ms O'Riordan pointed to landscape changes.
"The causes are most likely habitat loss. They like hedges and scrubby kind of areas, and just the way we use our land is changing," she said.
However, hedgehogs appear to be doing better in urban areas than in rural areas.
"They're doing better in more suburban areas than they are out in the countryside. That's because there is such a good mixture of habitats and there's plenty of places for them to nest and feed, and people are feeding them," she said.
As to what people can do to make their gardens "more hedgehog friendly", Ms O'Riordan advises homeowners to leave gaps in fences so the creatures can move around.
"The best things you can do are try to leave little parts of your garden a little bit wild - log piles or piles of leaves. Put away the chemicals - the slug pellets are bad news for hedgehogs.
"They need a big space, they won't live in one small garden so they need to be able to get around the neighbourhood, so little gaps in the fences and the walls and leaving the gate open so that they can get around and get in and out of people's gardens is really important," added Ms O'Riordan.
