Discover Animals’ Geoff Moore got an insight into the wildlife of the island of Alderney on a three-day stay recently.
This small island in the Channel Islands group has nevertheless a large and interesting animal population, which includes the unique blonde hedgehog; these tiny albino creatures have become quite a draw for tourists along with the tropical sandy cove beaches.
Speaking with CEO of the Alderney Wildlife Trust, Roland Gauvain, he explained how they came to be on the island:
“It is thought two pairs of brown hedgehogs were brought to Alderney in the 1950s from Harrods, quickly escaping and then breeding with the native species.
“Then the albino recessive gene has over the years increased in the island population. And by the 1980s, we started to get more reports of ‘blonde’ hedgehogs.
“Today, they attract film crews and visitors, and are incredibly popular. They are also an important animal as they fill a niche for tourism, yet have an invasive role, although this doesn’t appear to be negative.”
Touring the island after sunset is the time when you have the best chance of seeing these blonde hedgehogs including in the town of St Anne.
Roland is also extremely keen on bats too. It’s possible to join him on a joint bat and hedgehog evening walk from the Wildlife Trust Office in Victoria Street, which I highly recommend, although in mid-summer that can be pretty late as you need to be heading out at dusk.
The compact island of Alderney has a great deal of other animal, marine and bird life with so many different habitats there, even though it only measures 3.5 miles by 1.5 miles. And being nearly 60 miles south of the UK, it rarely has frosts, meaning the climate is a few degrees warmer than the mainland.
There are a number of ways to get to the island. Fly direct from Southampton with Aurigny (the Norman name for Alderney) or first fly to Guernsey and then make a short hop from Guernsey to Alderney that takes 10-15 minutes. A boat trip from Guernsey will take one hour.
Places to stay there are varied, including camping, self-catering options, guest houses or hotels. I was hosted by the aptly named ‘The Blonde Hedgehog’, a modern boutique hotel with great design and excellent dining options too (https://blondehedgehog.com/)
The island of Alderney is a calm and tranquil place to escape and explore, where the people are so friendly and helpful, and the animal life is both varied and never too far away.
Alderney From Old Photographs
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