some facts about hedgehogs!!!!!
A little facts post about hedgehogs, because I love sharing cool animal facts!!!!! If this post is well received, I may do more like it in the future :)
Hedgehogs are in the family Erinaceinae. They aren’t biologically related to rodents and other spikey animals like porcupines or echidnas, but they are in the same order as shrews, moles, and gymnures!!! The order Eulipotyphla!!!
Hedgehogs are named after their foraging methods!!! They root underneath hedges and make little snorty sounds like hogs. Hedge-hog :)
Hedgehog “quills” are actually called “spines”!!! Hedgehog spines are similar to quills but not the same. Hedgehog spines are more like hollow-out hairs, as opposed to the barbs that Porcupine quills are. These hairs are stiffened by keratin (which is also found in human nails) !!!
When hedgehogs are about adolescent aged, they go through a process called “quilling”! Quilling is the process of a hedgehog shedding their baby spines and growing in adult ones. It’s like a hedgehog equivalent of puberty or “the terrible twos”. Depending on the hedgehog, a hedgehog will either barely react to quilling or be very grumpy and irritable.
Hedgehogs are nocturnal!!! Some species of hedgehog though are also active during the day. They like to sleep under bushes, grasses, and rocks, as well as their little dens!!!
Hedgehogs hibernate!!! When they hibernate, a hedgehog’s body temp can decrease down to 36°F, or 2° in Celsius. Pretty cold if you ask me!!!
Hedgehogs have very poor eyesight, but have excellent senses of hearing and smell!!!
The collective noun for hedgehogs is an “array”. An array of hedgehogs!!!
There are about 17 species of hedgehogs recognized!!! That’s a lot of spikey babies!!! Certain species include african pygmy hedgehogs, long-eared hedgehogs, desert hedgehogs, and northern white-breasted hedgehogs!!!
Owning a hedgehog is illegal in many states of the US, particularly Alabama, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. This is because they are considered to be wildlife.
Hedgehogs as an animal have been around for over 58 million years!!! That’s a really long time!!!
In 2006, McDonald’s modified their McFlurry cups to be more hedgehog-friendly, because hedgehogs would keep getting stuck in McFlurry cups!!!
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