Although listed as a protected species since 1981, the hedgehog is highly vulnerable to perils that can prove fatal, such as lawnmower or car accidents, pesticide poisoning, pollution, habitat destruction and poaching.

The list of dangers is such that an estimated 20% of these adorable spiky creatures – approximately 700,000 hedgehogs – lose their lives each year in Europe

And the hedgehogs of the Ile-de-France region around Paris are no exception. Now, a rescue centre entirely dedicated to their care should be opening this spring (March to May) in the heart of the city’s Bois de Vincennes woodland.

The project is helmed by the Erinaceus France non-profit, which works for the protection and safeguarding of the European hedgehog. It will be a first in the capital, but not in France, since sanctuaries specially dedicated to these nocturnal mammals already exist in Picardie and in the Sarthe.

With nurseries, operating rooms and intensive care units, this veritable hedgehog hospital will be able to house about 30 injured hedgehogs. These animals will be rescued, treated, and then released back into the wild.

The future sanctuary is already built, but the Préfecture de Paris must still give the go-ahead for its opening.

“This is the first establishment of its kind in Paris, so it takes time. But we are very confident that we will get the green light. I think it’s only a matter of a few months,” said Erinaceus France president Manuel de Aguirre.

The initiative is part of the wider Plan Biodiversité 2018-2024, a programme launched in March 2018 by the Conseil de Paris that includes some 30 measures aiming to make the capital and its surroundings greener.