Little hosts of Diyarbakır’s Hevsel Gardens: Long-eared hedgehogs

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Photograph artist Mehmet Masum Süer has taken the photographs of long-eared hedgehogs, a rare and endangered species.

Süer, an international photographer, has so far taken the pictures of several animals in the Hevsel Gardens, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Turkey's southeastern province of Diyarbakır. Among the animals photographed by Süer are red foxes, hawks, snakes and several species of butterflies.

This time, he has taken the pictures of baby long-eared hedgehogs (Hemiechinus auritus), which are known to live in an area extending from the eastern Mediterranean province of Hatay to the district of Ceylanpınar in Turkey's southeastern province of Urfa.

The last time when the long-eared hedgehogs were photographed in Turkey was in 2017. Back then, they were captured by the camera traps set up by the Hatay Branch of the Nature Protection Association of Turkey to photograph the mountain gazelles.

Süer: I am happy

Süer is a photograph artist from Diyarbakır. He has recently been entitled as "Grand Master" by a photography club in India.

He finds it nice to see that the species that were not seen very frequently in the area are now seen more often:

"I am really happy to photograph and document these very cute animals and to see that some animal species are seen in our region more often than before. I think it is mostly because of the trainings and the public's raised awareness to protect the nature and animals. I contribute to this awareness by sharing the animal pictures that I took.

"Humans do not harm animals as much as before; in fact, when they find an animal in a bad situation or wounded, they save them by handing them over to the relevant authorities. In the last couple of years, we have been hearing such stories almost everyday, which I am really happy to hear." (TP/SD)