If hedgehogs will not have disappeared in France by 2025, as claimed by an online petition, the fact remains that the population of these cute balls of quills is declining in the country. Among the multiple causes that cost the lives of thousands of hedgehogs each year, there is one more visible than the others: collisions with vehicles. In an attempt to raise awareness among motorists, a resident of Cambrai, in the North, took the initiative of installing panels along the roads.
“I really had the click at the end of last year, when I picked up four corpses of hedgehogs in one week in the same district”, recalls Jérémy Noblecourt, municipal employee as a landscaper in the city of Cambrai. For this 28-year-old nature lover, passionate about photography, something had to be done. “Immediately, I thought of installing signs along the roads, to encourage motorists to be careful,” he continues. The young man therefore undertook to customize old triangular road signs, recovered from municipal services.
“At the beginning, I did it a bit on the spur of the moment”
Adorned with their new signage, depicting a hedgehog carrying a backpack crossing a protected passage, all that remained for Jérémy’s panels was to be installed. “At the beginning, I did it a bit hastily, without asking permission from the municipalities,” he admits. This is particularly the case of the one erected along the Prouville canal, near Cambrai. But the landscaper changed his mind and began canvassing the surrounding villages. “Three towns in Cambresis are interested, but their services must nevertheless check that there is no legal obstacle with the real road signs”, assures Jérémy.
Le Cambrésien’s initiative is not unique in France, nor in the department. In the summer of 2022, the inhabitants of Lomme, near Lille, saw panels similar to those of Jérémy appear in certain streets of the town. This time, the idea did not come from an individual, but from the Northern Bird Protection League (LPO). “We make these panels available to municipalities that request them. In Lomme, they are installed near the urban park, along a very busy road where hedgehogs were often run over,” explains Paul Maerten, president of the LPO du Nord.
The “Orphans of Autumn”
For Christophe Rousseau, director of Picardy wildlife care center, the idea is “commendable, but insufficient”. According to him, vehicles are only one cause of death among others: “We do not know how many hedgehogs die following these collisions with vehicles because we are not informed of these facts”, assures- he. On the other hand, what the expert notes are the numerous cases of hedgehogs injured by automatic mowers, the increasing number of cases of lung infections caused by phytosanitary products. “There are also ‘autumn orphans’, these babies who are born late because of global warming and who cannot reach sufficient weight to survive the winter”, deplores Christophe Rousseau. His only refuge collected 40 during this winter.
So, yes, encouraging motorists to pay attention “to all the animals that are brought to cross the roads” is a good thing, believes the specialist. We could also imagine underground passages, like what is already done for frogs. And also think about preserving their habitat: “leave small places fallow for them to hide and overwinter, put food, water, create a passage in the rigid fences of the gardens”, lists the director of the center of care. In short, that man adapts a little to the way of life of the hedgehog, because the reverse is not necessarily possible.