Hedgehog:
Hedgehog The Hedgehog belongs to the mammalian, hedgehog and hedgehog species, and includes sixteen different species of hedgehogs, small, activity-like animals that cover the thorns of its body. The size of hedgehogs varies by type, ranging in length from 10-30 cm and weighing 155-1.584 grams. Hedgehogs live in various ecological zones. Some of them are desert hedgehogs that live in low rainfall places, including several species in Asia. The European hedgehog spreads from the Mediterranean to the Scandinavian countries. In Africa hedgehogs are found in savannah, forest and even cities.
Some hedgehogs dig deep holes in the ground, some build a patch of twigs, grasses and tree leaves, or hide among rocks. Some live in burrows abandoned by animals such as turtles and foxes. Characteristics of the hedgehogs The back of the hedgehog covers (3000-5000) a sharp fork made of horny material, which is the constituent of human hair and nails. The hedgehog is white, or brown to black, Dark. The hedgehog has 44 teeth, has a strong leg despite its shortness, and has large feet. Each foot has five fingers, except the hedgehog, called the four-finger hedgehog, with curved claws that help it dig. The hedgehog's face is
conical and has a wet nose and nose and large ears. , And the senses of smell and hearing has strong, but the sense of sight is weak. The Hedgehog, which lives in cold areas with its environment, sleeps during a cold period. This behavior is called hibernation or hibernation. The hedgehogs that live in the deserts die. The period of heat intensification and drought in sleep, which is called summer aestivation. When the Hedgehog is in danger, the thorns around the back of the neck are formed, and the back and abdomen muscles are used to turn into a ball of thorns covering the weak areas of the body. It is difficult for the predatory animals to open them. In order to increase the hedgehog, it is difficult to fertilize it. An exasperating taste of predators and parasites that live on his skin. Feeding Hedgehogs Hedgehogs are originally insectivores, but their diet includes a wide range of foods that vary depending on the environment in which they live. They cover the fruits, roots, leaves and seeds of plants, as well as mollusks and snails.
The Hedgehog, which lives in the deserts of Africa, feeds on snakes, even venomous ones, small rodents and dead animals. It also feeds on scorpions, some of the stinging thorns of the scorpion before eating. The European hedgehog feeds on earthworms, beetles, larvae, bird eggs and chicks. South Africa can eat all of the above as well as fungi, frogs, lizards, termites, grasshoppers, moths and hedgehogs. The Hedgehog gives birth to a hedgehog (4-7) of young children after a gestation period of 4-6 weeks, The weight of a small Hedgehog (Hoglet or Piglet) at birth between (3 (25) grams, and his body is covered with about 150 soft and soft white thorns, and to protect the mother during childbirth, the thorns are covered with a swollen, fluid-filled skin that disappears after birth and upon completion of a small hedgehog the first month of life can open his eyes One of the tasks of the mother in this period is to teach young people ways to get food, protect them from predators and from the father also if he tries to eat them, but the mother may devour her children if she feels disturbed. Young people reach puberty between 9-11 months, and live between 3-8 years in the wild and 10 years in zoos. Risks to hedgehogs The hedgehogs are exposed to many risks, including natural causes Such as exposure to predation, including what is the result of human activity. The hedgehog spines are a very effective protection tool and have contributed to reducing the number of organisms that can prey on hedgehogs.!
However, hedgehogs may still be prey to some species of eagles and falcons due to their scarred stems and sharp claws.
One of the most important enemies of the hedgehog is the Ghurair, who, thanks to his sophisticated sense of smell, can find hedgehogs during the winter period. He uses his claws to remove the hedgehog's hedgehog, and attacks the Hedgehog from the abdomen, which is not protected by thorns. Can catch the hedgehog before it can turn around, but it can often only prey on diseased, age-old, or dead-eyed hedgehogs. The black owl and the animal of the horse mouse (the weasel of the mantis) are the animals that attack the hedgehog, and may be successful if they can exploit the periods when the hedgehog expands on its back to get rid of the excess heat.
It can not
regulate the temperature of its body efficiently; Of the secretion of sweat only from specific areas, the areas not covered by the thorns, and when this happens, the abdomen is exposed, making it more vulnerable to predators, and winter may bring death to small hedgehogs that did not store enough fat to keep them alive during the hibernation period Winter, of the reasons The causes of human apoptosis and the increasing population density that deprived hedgehogs of their sources of food and natural habitats have been caused by the construction of roads and the conversion of natural land into agricultural land
