Where are Arran’s hedgehogs?

Until a few years ago, hedgehogs were a familiar sight, pottering about in gardens and helpfully munching slugs. They seemed to have a liking for houses, often turning up at the back door in the evening, specially if the owner of a faddy cat sometimes put out a saucer of moggy-rejected food. Motorists frequently had to brake for a hedgehog shuffling across the road, mistakenly convinced that rolling up inside its prickles would protect it from cars. But lately, the hedgehog population seems to have vanished. Whiting Bay is bereft of them, and many people on this side of the island say they haven’t seen a hedgehog for ages. Have the Mrs Tiggywinkles taken themselves off to the Southend, or to the delights of Shiskine or Pirnmill? At the Voice, we’re all suffering from hedgehog-deprivation, and are considering writing to Uist, where they’ve been culling hedgehogs to protect seabirds’ eggs. Dear sir, if you don’t want your hedgehogs, can we have some? Meanwhile, to put us out of our distress, please let us know if you’ve seen one.