| Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Erinaceus europaeus (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Hedgehog French name: Hérisson d'Europe Family: Erinaceidae Size: 18-35 cm, 500-1200 g Biotope: Clearings, woodland edges, gardens, hedgerows. Food: Insects, mice, invertebrates (molluscs, worms) and sometimes eggs and chicks. Longevity : 12 to 15 years. Geographic area: Europe, missing in Finland and far East. |
Hedgehogs are solitary animals which live in bushes and woodlands. Females breed 1 or 2 times per year. There are 2 to 6 newborns per litter. They are born spineless and blind and they will leave the nest 3 weeks later. The back of the Hedgehog is covered by about 3000 spines which are renewed every year. Hedgehogs usually run away when threatened, but if the danger is too close, they roll into a tight ball bristling their spines. |
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A kind Hedgehog, perhaps disturbed during its sleep, crossed my garden and stopped a couple of minutes for the picture. |
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Let me introduce Picpic. Some friends have found this young Hedgehog, completely disoriented, during the day, in the centre of the town next to roads with heavy traffic. They have decided to increase its life expectancy by moving it to a much quieter place. I have proposed my garden where it will be able to meet many friends of the same species. Then here is its first step in my garden. |
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Small close-up view of Picpic which has been very fast to run under dense vegetation as soon as it was out of its cardboard box. |
André Bon March 2013