Hedgehogs have changed little over 15 million years. They are nocturnal mammals that can swim, climb, and roll into a prickly ball for defense. Hedgehogs have good navigation skills and use their sense of smell and hearing to find food and nests. They eat insects and small animals and hibernate in cold weather, slowing their metabolism significantly. Hedgehogs live on multiple continents but not in Australia or North America.

1. Hedgehog
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Hedgehogs have changed only very little over
the last 15 million years.
Hedgehogs are mammals and they can swim and
climb quite well. Amazing
When hedgehogs are threatened they prefer to run away. Hedgehogs can
Only as a last resort do they roll up into even climb
a prickly ball. trees.
Hedgehogs are mostly nocturnal.
Hedgehogs have a fantastic navigation system in
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their brains. They create maps, which include the best places
to feed, places to sleep, obstacles, pathways and much more.
Nocturnal means
that the animal
starts looking
for food during
dusk and sleeps
during
daytime.

2. Hedgehog
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Theeyesight of a hedgehog is poor but they have a
very good sense of smell and hearing.
Although their hair is stiff with spiky spines, hedgehog tum- Info Box
mies are covered in coarse fur and are compara-
tively soft. The spiky hairs
of hedgehogs are
Their spiky hair is hollow. It is stiff because it also called quills.
contains something called keratin, which humans also have On average a
in their skin, nails and hair. hedgehog
has about
Hedgehogs build nests for shelter, which they mostly make 5000 - 6500
of leaves, grass and various other plants. quills.
Amazing
Hedgehogs have
some natural immunity
against the venom
of snakes.

3. Hedgehog
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Their nests are about 50 cm in diameter, which is almost 2
feet or as big as the size of two dinner plates. Usually
they built more than just one nest.
In some climates hedgehogs hibernate, which
mean they sleep during a cold winter or, in a hot
desert, during very hot summers. It all depends on if there is
enough food to eat.
During the hibernation period they sometimes move to
­another nest.
their
Once they hibernate they do not just go to sleep but
metabolism slows almost to a standstill.
Their body temperature is normally 35° C but ­during
hibernation it drops to 10° C degrees or less.
­During that time they breathe only about once
every few minutes. During that time they breathe
only about 13 times per minute.
One of the hedgehog species has a normal heartbeat­
of 190 beats per minute. This drops to
about 20 beat per minute when it is
­hibernating.

4. Hedgehog
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Hedgehogs can live in different climates and terrains. They
live in parts of Europe, Asia, Africa and New
Zealand but not in Australia or North America. Info Box
Hedgehogs feed on insects, snails, frogs, toads, snakes, bird Did you know
eggs, carrion, mushrooms, grass roots, berries and melons. that hedgehogs
are pretty vocal?
Unfortunately insects filled with pesticides will give hedge- In nature they
hogs digestive problems. This can even be life threatening communicate
for them. through a
combination
of snuffles,
Did you know? grunts or
squeals.
One hedgehog can keep
an average garden free of
pests by eating up to Info Box
200 grams of insects
each night. Don’t give milk
to hedgehogs!
They get
stomachache
when they
drink milk.

5. Hedgehog
Facts:
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Hedgehogs are born blind with a protective membra-
ne covering their quills, which dries and shrinks over the first
few hours.
Baby hedgehogs stay in the nest until they are about ­
3
weeks old.
In some ancient cultures hedgehogs were credited
to have different powers and they were sometimes even
worshipped.
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You can call a baby
hedgehog also
a hoglet.

6. Hedgehog
Quizv:
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True or False?
1. Baby hedgehogs can see right after birth.
2. Hedgehogs love to live in groups.
3. When you find a hedgehog you should feed it with milk.
4. Hedgehogs can swim but they cannot climb very well.
5. Hedgehogs are immune against snake venom.
Answers:
1. F, 2. F, 3. F (they will get tummy aches and will feel unwell if you give them milk),
4. F (true that they can swim but they can also climb), 5. T