"The hedgehog is a bit like the polar bear of our gardens," warns Sara Stahl, who, for years, has been taking care of injured or vulnerable hedgehogs in her garden, which she transformed into a care centre. She notes the dramatic effects of rising temperatures. "When it is very hot the soil becomes too hard to scratch and they can no longer look for worms, the insects hide and there are no more snails, there is nothing left," she says. "As a result, they can starve to death in the middle of summer, because there's nothing left to eat when it's too hot." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES