Hedgehog
Europe
The hedgehog is a small, cute animal with thousands of sharp spines on its back. When it senses danger, it rolls into a ball and hides behind its prickly armor. It's nocturnal and comes out at night to look for bugs.
Quick facts
- Habitat
- It lives in Europe's woods, fields, and gardens.
- Diet
- It eats insects, earthworms, and snails.
- Size and weight
- Length 20–30cm, weight 0.6–1.2kg.
- Lifespan
- 3–7 years
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
- Fun facts
- It has more than 5,000 spines on its back!
When winter comes, it curls up into a ball and hibernates.
Learn more
The little explorer of the forest, dressed in a prickly suit of armor
The amazing secrets of the hedgehog that we never knew
- A mysterious mammal with over 5,000 spines.
- It's mostly active at night, helping protect the forest ecosystem.
- Let's discover the fun biological traits hidden behind its cute looks.
5,000 perfect shields
Its spines are actually a remarkable tool, evolved from fur.
- Its entire back is covered with 5,000–7,000 densely packed spines.
- Made of the same keratin as human fingernails, they're hollow inside and very light.
- Just as baby teeth fall out, it naturally sheds and regrows spines as it grows, a process called 'quilling.'
Transforming into a spiky ball in an instant
A perfect, impenetrable defense system using special muscles
- When it senses danger, it instantly hides its soft parts, like its head and belly.
- Special muscles beneath the skin (piloerector muscles) contract, making the spines stand straight up at 90 degrees.
- Its hollow spines also act like an airbag, absorbing shock when it falls from a height.
A superpower that even beats snake venom
A special ability that lets it survive in the rough wild despite its small size
- Thanks to a protein called 'erinacin' in its muscles, it has natural immunity to snake venom.
- When it smells something unfamiliar, it froths at the mouth and spreads the foam onto its spines, a behavior called 'anointing.'
- This unique behavior is a great survival skill, letting it camouflage itself with the scent of its surroundings.
A scent detective ruling the night
Its eyesight is weak, but its sense of smell and hearing are remarkable.
- Its excellent sense of smell lets it pinpoint prey hidden under dark fallen leaves.
- It can detect even the faintest sounds, sensing danger and locating food nearby.
- Eating mainly caterpillars, earthworms, and spiders, it acts as a helpful pest-control cleaner for the ecosystem.
The biological magic of hibernation
It completely shuts down its body's switches to endure the cold winter.
- Body temperature shift — from a normal 35°C down to under 10°C during hibernation.
- Heart rate shift — from a normal 190 beats a minute down to just 20 during hibernation.
- Breathing shift — to conserve energy to the extreme, it breathes only once every few minutes.
A little wild animal in your room
The essential environment needed to keep one as a pet
- Since it's very vulnerable to hypothermia, it must always be kept warm at 24–28°C.
- Since it naturally prefers to live alone, only one should be kept per cage.
- Being nocturnal, it's extremely active every night, so a safe wheel at least 28cm across is essential.
The hedgehog's dilemma
The heartwarming gap between a famous philosophical metaphor and real biology
- This is philosopher Schopenhauer's famous metaphor for keeping a proper distance between people.
- The story goes that hedgehogs huddle together to escape the cold, but their spines make it hard to get close.
- In reality, however, hedgehogs are affectionate animals that can lay their spines flat and embrace each other without getting hurt.