HAVE you seen a hedgehog recently?

A new project is aiming to establish the size of the Isle of Wight's hedgehog population and help conserve the popular creatures.

Hedgehog Island is a new campaign organised by The Wildheart Trust at the Isle of Wight Zoo and local voluntary hedgehog rescue group Save Our Hedgehogs Isle of Wight, to see how many hedgehogs there are on the Island.

They are asking the Island community to help them find out the size of the hedgehog population and where they are located.

People can report their hedgehog sightings to help create a map.

Once the information is collected, there will be a plan created for hedgehog conservation, which will also involve public participation.

On Saturday, October 26, the zoo is hosting a Hedgehog Day. This is an opportunity to find out what people can do to help hedgehogs prepare for winter hibernation, and how to look out for them on bonfire night.

A safe permanent home will also be established at the zoo for rescued hedgehogs too disabled to be returned to the wild.

People can send in their sightings by email or post.

To report a sighting, go to the link at isleofwightzoo.com/whats-on/2019/the-big-hedgehog-count

Include all relevant bits of information, and take a picture if you can, but make sure you do not disturb the hedgehogs in their habitat.