One of the things we do at HHR is take part in scientific studies to further the knowledge about, and treatment of hedgehogs. The first one of this year is by Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen, hedgehog specialist at the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at University of Oxford.
Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen will lead a comprehensive and important study on the microbiomes of European hedgehogs in the UK and Denmark, describing the bacterial and fungal communities living inside the hedgehogs. The research will be based on faecal samples collected from hedgehogs by volunteers. The project is a collaboration between specialists from Aalborg University in Denmark, University of Sassari in Italy and University of Oxford, UK.
The knowledge gained will eventually help to optimise the treatment of hedgehogs admitted with infections at wildlife rehabilitation centres, improving the opportunity to for the staff to target the treatment, potentially causing a higher survival of diseased hedgehogs admitted into care.
