Dutch hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus are nowadays mainly found in urban areas, possibly due to the negative Effects of badgers Meles meles

In several west European countries, the distribution of hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus is declining. In the UK, predation by the European badger Meles meles is considered to be the main death cause of hedgehogs. In the Netherlands, badger density is rising, which suggests the same cause for the decline. As landscape and land use largely differ between the UK and the Netherlands, we investigated the relationship between the distribution of badgers and hedgehogs in the Netherlands. Therefore, we used the presence of badgers and hedgehogs recorded in the period 2007–2010 in grid cells of 1 km 2 ,... Mehr ...