group of hedgehogs

group of hedgehogs

However, there are some other less-common named used for them such as a prickle or an array. Hedgehogs have a coat of stiff, sharp spines. Featured in tales by Beatrix Potter, the hedgehog retains its popularity in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game. Hedgehogs are well-loved animals and are featured in traditional children's stories and fairy tales. Hedgehogs (Erinaceidae) are a group of insectivores that are native to parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa.Hedgehogs are small mammals with rotund bodies and distinct spines made of keratin. Hedgehogs construct burrows or use those dug by other mammals such as rabbits and foxes. In deserts, they sleep through heat and drought in a similar process called aestivation. All rights reserved. Hedgehogs have a coat of stiff, sharp spines. Each year, hedgehogs can raise as many as three litters of young with as many as 11 babies. Hedgehogs hibernate in cold climates. Hedgehogs have a round body and dense spines on their back. Fascinating Arctic Fox Facts (Vulpes lagopus), www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150818-living-with-hedgehogs, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/h/hedgehog/, M.S., Applied Ecology, Indiana University Bloomington, B.S., Biology and Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The collective noun for hedgehogs is the word you would use to describe a group of hedgehogs. Hedgehogs have a white or tan face and short limbs with long curved claws. When threatened, hedgehogs crouch and hiss but they are better known for their defensive tactics than their might. During hibernation, the body temperature and heart rate of the hedgehogs decline. Hedgehogs occupy a variety of habitats including forests, grasslands, scrublands, hedges, suburban gardens, and agricultural areas. They remain active all year in more temperate locations. Hedgehogs are generally solitary animals that spend time with one another only during mating season and when rearing young. Hedgehogs are born blind and gestation lasts up to 42 days. They have poor vision despite their large eyes but they have a keen sense of hearing and smell, and they use their sharper senses of smell and hearing to help them locate prey. Photograph by Ingo Arndt, Minden Pictures/Nat Geo Image Collection, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/h/hedgehog.html. A group of hedgehogs is usually called a herd. These include cancer, fatty liver disease, and cardiovascular disease. 2020 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Laura Klappenbach, M.S., is a science writer specializing in ecology, biology, and wildlife. Hedgehogs are divided into five subgroups that include Eurasian hedgehogs (Erinaceus), African hedgehogs (Atelerix and Paraechinus), desert hedgehogs (Hemiechinus), and steppe hedgehogs (Mesechinus). These solitary animals typically couple only for mating. They are occasionally active during the day but more often shelter themselves in shrubs, tall vegetation or rock crevices during daylight hours. Although they belong to the group of mammals formerly known as the insectivores, hedgehogs eat a varied diet that includes more than just insects. Hedgehogs have a coat of stiff, sharp spines. These animals root through hedges and other undergrowth in search of the small creatures that compose the bulk of their diet—insects, worms, centipedes, snails, mice, frogs, and snakes. If attacked they will curl into a prickly and unappetizing ball that deters most predators. They are not present in Australia, North America, Central America or South America, though have been introduced to New Zealand as an exotic species. Conservation attempts are underway around the world; as a BBC article says: “A world without hedgehogs would be an uglier place.". Hedgehogs feed on a variety of invertebrates such as insects, snails, and slugs as well as some small vertebrates including reptiles, frogs and birds' eggs. Young hedgehogs mature in four to seven weeks after birth. Many species of hedgehogs, however, are on the decline as a result of habitat loss, pesticide use, and poaching for use in traditional medicines. Young hedgehogs are born with spines that are shed and replaced with larger stronger spines when they mature.

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