Hedgehog the Terminator

The European hedgehog in the UK is a much loved but also pitied animal. Hedgehogs are savaged by dogs and cats (as well as wild mammal predators). They get squashed in their thousands by motor vehicles. The hedgehog's technique of rolling into a ball, seems a feeble defense. Hedgehogs are also welcomed to British gardens to polish off the hated slugs and snails. It's a different story in New Zealand, where the hedgehog was introduced by British migrants, who presumably wanted to be reminded of home and Mrs Tiggywinkle (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/08/killing-machines-humble-british-hedgehog-causes-havoc-in-new-zealand). In New Zealand, the hedgehog is a killing machine. There are no native mammal predators in that country. Many of the birds (and some insects) are flightless. The birds of New Zealand are also often ground nesting (they also had no terrestrial mammal predators to avoid). Recent studies, in New Zealand, reveal that the introduced European hedgehog, consumes many native lizards, the eggs of ground nesting birds and wetas (a large, flightless cricket). Even the 'feeble' hedgehog can become an environmental problem, when introduced into the 'wrong' environment. One can add the hedgehog to the list of problematic alien introuctions (along with Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam, the Cane toad and the Mongoose).