Thorvald the Hedgehog, aged 16, has broken the previous record to become the oldest European hedgehog in the world. However, this animal died in 2016 after being attacked by a dog.
This male hedgehog lived near the town of Silkeborg in central Denmark.
Nearly 700 dead hedgehogs have been collected and studied in Denmark. (Photo: Guardian).
Dr. Sophie Lund Rasmussen, from the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford, expressed her astonishment upon learning of its age, as reported by the Guardian.
“I was in tears of joy when I got to hold an individual that lived for 16 years. This is truly good news for conservation. Under suitable conditions, hedgehogs can live up to 16 years – it’s remarkable,” she stated. Dr. Rasmussen leads the Danish Hedgehog Project, the unit that discovered Thorvald.
The previous record holder was a female hedgehog aged 9 in Ireland, which researchers identified in 2014.
Unfortunately, Thorvald died at the animal rescue center of the Danish Animal Protection Organization in Silkeborg in 2016 after being attacked by a dog.
Dr. Rasmussen emphasized that dogs should be leashed or confined at night when hedgehogs are out. “It’s sad that this hedgehog lived so long only to die after being attacked by a dog,” she remarked.
Thorvald was among nearly 700 dead hedgehogs collected by 400 volunteers as part of a scientific research program. They also found a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old hedgehog, according to a report published in the journal Animals. The deceased hedgehogs were sent to researchers for age determination.
This research is significant as hedgehog populations are declining in many European countries. The causes are believed to be habitat destruction, intensive agriculture, and road traffic accidents…
According to DW, hedgehog populations in Europe appear to have severely declined in 2022.
