24/04/2014 Newsround

Hi, I'm Ricky with your evening update. First, we're talking

hedgehogs. Once a big part of British wildlife in years past, now

they're listed as an endangered species. But a new study's found

that in some areas, they're on the rise because of the controversial

badger cull trial. Here's Leah. They're cute, small and seriously

spiky. But across the UK, the number of hedgehogs has been going down for

years. One reason for this is thought to be that the areas where

they live have been built on or used for farming crops. But another

threat is the badger. They both compete for the same food, a mix of

slugs and worms, meaning the bigger animal wins. And in the wild badgers

will often eat hedgehogs too. Now researchers from Exeter and

Southampton University have found, in the areas where badger culls are

taking place, numbers of hedgehogs have more than doubled. We also saw

from the same survey, that when he removed badgers, you ended up with

more foxes around, and increased numbers of predators like foxes

could have negative effects on other wildlife. When you manage wildlife

in an intensive way, over very large areas of ground, you can end up with

a host of unexpected outcomes for other species. We need to think very

carefully before we undertake large-scale wildlife management

project. The research was funded by the Government Department for

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who are behind the badger cull. And

not everyone agrees with it. So while numbers are on the up where

the cull is taking place - in other parts of the country hedgehogs are

struggling. Conservationists are warning unless action is taken these

spiky creatures may not be with us for much longer.

Next to an extraordinary tale of rescue from a desert island. Five

people were rescued off the east coast of Australia on Monday after

they wrote a giant distress signal in the sand. The group became

stranded when their boat drifted away while they swam off the coast

of Queensland. To attract rescue workers they managed to write SOS in

large letters in a small sand bar. We were tasked to go out to these

islands. Eventually I thought I saw some movement on a bunch of rocks.

As we got closer, sure enough, the people there. Then we saw the SOS in

the sand, which confirmed the people were in trouble. It was a bit of a

surprise. They had been there for a long time. They were very thirsty.

They were pretty happy that somebody came along to pick them up, they

would have been uncomfortable by nightfall. They had not secured the

boat very well. How lucky were they? Newsround is back