Monty Don follows hedgehog along his garden path
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Monty Don, 65, uploaded an adorable clip on Instagram of a hedgehog prowling his garden in broad daylight. The Gardeners’ World star said he was “delighted” to host the “catastrophically endangered” animal at his sprawling Herefordshire estate
We are honoured with this little chap in the garden
Monty Don
The hedgehog could be seen walking past Monty’s hedges slowly, before picking up pace when he realised the TV star was on his tail.
He typed: “Hedgehogs have become catastrophically endangered and rare so delighted that we are honoured with this little chap in the garden.”
In response, fans warned him that the hedgehog could be “dehydrated” as they are rarely seen during the day.
One typed: “If he was out in the day there is something wrong and you need to take it to a wildlife centre to check it’s not ill.”
A second replied: “Hedgehog society goes into reasons they may be out early in the morning or just before dusk and says if moving swiftly they are generally fine and foraging or nest building.”
While a third said: “I think if he’s out in the daytime it means he’s dehydrated – hopefully you have a water source for him. Wish we had hedgehogs in the garden.”
And a fourth remarked: “We have one that comes every night to our front door. Never seen one before.”
Hedgehogs are widespread throughout mainland Britain and in the summer they spend most of the day sheltering in a nest of leaves, moss and grass.
They come out at night and can be heard snuffling and grunting as they forage for food.
In the autumn they find a sheltered spot, often under a hedgerow, to hibernate.
Although their eyesight is poor, they have good hearing and a well-developed sense of smell. Hedgehogs are good runners, proficient climbers and can even swim.
If attacked they roll into a tight ball so only their spines are exposed.
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Many hedgehogs are killed unintentionally by humans: on the road, with lawnmowers, strimmers and garden chemicals, and in bonfires.
Monty wrote his famed book The Jewel Garden about his beloved outdoor space at Longmeadow, the Tudor estate he and his wife Sarah Don share, just after they had lost their assets in the 1980s.
The famed gardener admitted the couple became “lambs to the slaughter” when their jewellery company went bankrupt in 1987.
Monty ended up surviving on government support throughout the early 1990s after the stock market crash took all of their life’s savings.
He told Express.co.uk: “We were lambs to the slaughter and we lost everything, we lost our house, our business. We sold every stick of furniture we had.”
Following the closure of the business, Monty published his first book The Jewel Garden in 2004.
The premise for the book stemmed from the couple’s commercial failure and told the story of their early days living at Longmeadow.
In The Jewel Garden, Monty relived how he and Sarah had transformed the muddy fields around the Tudor farmhouse.
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