In Poland, hedgehogs find a saviour

Too weak to stand on his feet after swallowing poison for garden slugs, Smoky the hedgehog is fighting for his life.
      
Thanks to a devoted Polish animal lover, he has a chance.        

Andrzej Kuziomski set up Poland's first and only hedgehog shelter after as a bicycle courier he came across hundreds of the small, quilled mammals that had been killed or maimed in run-ins with humans.
      
"He hasn't eaten anything for days... He weighs less than half of what he should," the 45-year-old says as he holds Smoky, gently stroking his prickly back.
      
The refuge on the outskirts of Krakow has space for up to 50 sick or injured hedgehogs.
      
Driven from their habitat by rapid urbanisation and poisoned by the intensive use of insecticides, these omnivores have had little choice but to adapt to city life, while facing its mortal dangers.
      
Indeed, in parts of the capital Warsaw their numbers have exploded, forcing city authorities to install "Beware of Hedgehogs" signs.
      
But in reality, their distinctive protective quills are no match for car tyres.        

Nor is their habit of rolling up into a ball, a defence mechanism used to foil predators.        

Despite being a protected species, the hedgehog is at risk of disappearing from Europe within the next 20 years, Kuziomski warns.
      
Venturing into urban settings is their "last cry for help" as environmental factors squeeze them out of traditional habitats like forests and fields, he says.
      
"If we don't help them now, soon our children will only read about them in books," Kuziomski told AFP.
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