HAVE you spotted a hedgehog in your garden recently?

Then Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) want to hear from you.

The trust has chosen the hedgehog as its species of the month and is encouraging homeowners to note their sightings.

These little animals have up to 7,000 spines to protect themselves against predators. They have a long thin snout, and a small hidden tail.

Hedgehogs are insectivorous meaning they eat insects including caterpillars, beetles and earthworms as well as slugs and snails.

They need to eat plenty of food during the summer months so that they are in good condition when they hibernate in October and November.

Hedgehogs are disappearing from our countryside as fast as tigers are worldwide.

Hedgehog numbers have declined by 30 per cent in just over 10 years.

A number of factors have been blamed including widespread use of pesticides, which reduces the invertebrates hedgehogs eat, larger field sizes making it difficult for hedgehogs to move around, and the intensive farming of pastureland.

For more information, or to report your hedgehog sighting, visit dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/sotm-hedgehog