Road traffic is a leading cause of hedgehog mortality in urban and suburban areas. Understanding hedgehog movement patterns can help reduce deaths through targeted interventions.
Death by vehicle strike causes significant trauma - hedgehogs are not killed instantly in most collisions and may suffer before dying. Even for those not struck, roads create anxiety-inducing barriers that constrain natural ranging behaviour. The cumulative effect of road mortality and habitat fragmentation is driving the urban hedgehog decline documented since the 1990s. Practical measures - wildlife tunnels, road design improvements, and community speed reduction initiatives - can meaningfully reduce individual suffering at a landscape scale.