Help Hedgehogs: How Your Garden Camera Can Make a Difference

Ever caught a hedgehog snuffling through your garden at night? That simple clip on your trail camera could help researchers understand and protect one of the UK’s most-loved mammals.

This May, our friends at Nottingham Trent University are launching Spot a Hog- a citizen science project that invites anyone with a garden trail camera to get involved in real conservation research. By sharing footage from your own camera, you can help scientists monitor the Western European hedgehog and better understand where these animals are thriving - or struggling to survive.

Whether you’ve been filming wildlife for years or have just picked up your first trail camera, this is a chance to make your camera trap captures count.

What Is Spot a Hog?

Led by researcher Paulina Pawlikowska, Spot a Hog uses trail camera footage from gardens across the country to track where hedgehogs are present and where they’re not. The goal is to build a more complete, real-time picture of hedgehog populations using footage many people are already collecting.

Unlike formal wildlife surveys that often rely on limited sampling, this project taps into everyday observations from people at home. The more people who get involved, the more accurate and meaningful the data becomes.

Trail cameras are a brilliant, non-intrusive way to observe nocturnal animals like hedgehogs. And while you might be using yours just for fun, the clips you capture could contain valuable data that researchers can analyse to help protect these animals.

Why Hedgehogs Need Our Help

The Western European Hedgehog is now listed as Near Threatened in Europe, with UK populations plummeting in recent decades - by as much as 75% in some areas, according to the State of Britain’s Hedgehogs 2022.

The causes are well-known: habitat loss, busy roads, garden fencing that blocks natural routes, and the widespread use of pesticides and slug pellets. Hedgehogs are struggling to find safe, connected spaces to live and forage.

But there’s good news too. More and more people are taking simple steps to make their gardens hedgehog-friendly, and many are going further by using trail cameras to monitor their local wildlife. Projects like Spot a Hog are helping researchers pinpoint exactly where hedgehogs and other species are thriving (or not).

If you’re new to monitoring hedgehogs or want tips on what to look out for, our guide to how to watch hedgehogs in your garden is a great place to begin.

How to Take Part

Here’s how to take part from your own back garden:

1. Get Your Camera Ready

One of the best things about this project is that it doesn’t matter which trail camera you use. All makes and models are welcome—as long as you follow the same basic setup.
If you’re looking for help choosing a camera, our Best Garden Wildlife Cameras 2025 guide includes our top picks for watching garden wildlife and answers to common questions.

2. Follow the Spot a Hog Setup Guide

To make sure your footage is useful for research, the project provides a simple setup guide with instructions on where to place your camera and which settings to use. Visit the Spot a Hog website for full instructions

3. Upload Your Footage to MammalWeb

MammalWeb is a citizen science platform where you can upload and share your trail camera footage. It’s free and easy to use—just create an account, upload your clips, and tag them under the Spot a Hog project.

4. Help Classify What You See (Optional)

Want to get more involved? On MammalWeb, you can choose to be a Trapper (someone who uploads footage) or a Spotter (someone who helps classify the species captured on camera).

Even if you don’t have a camera, you can still contribute to real conservation research by helping sort through images uploaded by others.

Want to Take Part but Don’t Have a Camera Yet?

If you’re just getting started with garden wildlife watching, we’ve got you covered. These are our three top picks for the best trail cameras for garden wildlife, all suitable for the Spot a Hog project:

WiFi WildCam 2

The WildCam 2 is a small but powerful trail camera that is optimised for wildlife watching in your garden. With easy remote access and control via the NatureSpy app, you can access footage directly from your phone or tablet. Perfect for monitoring our nocturnal visitors, it provides both infrared and colour recording options to capture clear footage even after dark—perfect for hedgehogs!

Browning Recon Force Elite HP5

One of the best trail cameras on the market, often used by researchers and the one we use frequently in our own projects. Its previous model was even featured on BBC Springwatch. It’s got sharp video quality and fast trigger speeds, making it a reliable choice for serious wildlife monitoring.

Helarctos Solar Trail Camera

If you’re looking for a more sustainable option, our first solar-powered trail camera is great for long-term monitoring without constant battery changes, records in 4K, and features local WiFi connectivity—allowing you to easily access detailed footage directly on your phone.

“I’ve been using the Helarctos to track a hedgehog that’s just emerged from hibernation. He’s already back to his usual path along the garden fence, showing up like clockwork each night.” - Alice Barrett, NatureSpy Tech Advisor

Profits from camera sales go back to supporting conservation work around the globe.
To find out more about the projects we support, please visit our Conservation Projects page.

Happy Hog Monitoring!