Hedgehogs numbers in Europe have been falling for years due to an increasing loss of habitat and sources of food amid human expansion, and for those that remain there is a new threat: robot lawnmowers. These automated machines, increasingly common in gardens with lawns, are known to slice more than vegetation, and conservationists have been warning that hedgehogs are being killed by these mowers, many of which are not built to detect or avoid them. A University of Oxford-led team has come up wit
The test will "greatly aid hedgehog conservation, by enabling manufacturers of robotic lawn mowers to ensure their models are hedgehog-friendly before they are put on the market," according to lead researcher Sophie Lund Rasmussen. "Cut injuries from robotic lawn mowers are placing an enormous burden on many hedgehog care centres and using up important resources, as these injuries often require above-average care and treatment," said Anne Berger of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research.t machine mowers.