[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]A wildlife rescue centre is seeing evidence that Mother Nature seems more than a little mixed up as a result of the UK’s weirdly warm weather.
Most scientists across the world now accept global warming as a fact of life.
And some might argue that the evidence in Cumbria is increasingly obvious.
At the Knoxwood Wildlife Rescue Centre near Wigton, which takes animals from all over north and west Cumbria, staff are caring for a brood of four baby hedgehogs, born in the last few weeks. The more usual time for their arrival is late July.
The brood were discovered huddling together beneath a pile of scrap wood, their mother having vanished.
They have doubled in size thanks to a rich diet of goat’s milk provided by Knoxwood staff, but when found they were each about the size of a chestnut, said Knoxwood founder George Scott.
“These little creatures were born within the last week or two, just a few weeks from November, which is very unusual,” he explained.
“Normally baby hedgehogs are born at the end of July so perhaps the hedgehogs are having two or three broods to make up for the cold winters we’ve been having.
“I’ve also had calls from people who are worried about swallows which have been spotted in Thursby, and also in Ireby, which again is very unusual, as they have usually migrated south by the end of September.”
George is sceptical about global warming but he accepts that the weather just now is unseasonably warm.
Dr Roy Armstrong, a University of Cumbria wildlife expert, said there is now ample evidence that the warming climate is affecting Cumbria’s ecology.
Several species of bird which historically have been restricted to the warmer south of England are now seen regularly in the area.
They include little egrets as well as comma butterflies, and the patchwork cutter bee.
“There’s no question that the climate is warming,” he said. “We have the evidence and as a result some animals are changing their geographic range, though that might not all be positive.
“Cumbria is now the most southerly outpost of the dotterel, a kind of wading bird, and they might end up going north as a result of warming.”
With the warm weather expected to end soon, George urged animal lovers to provide weather-proof shelters for hedgehogs in their gardens.
So far this year, Knoxwood has taken in between 100 and 200 hedgehogs.
Sun Oct 27, 2013 9:11 am