🐾 Hedgehog

Hedgehog

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Who it is

• Scientific name: Erinaceus europaeus
• Family & relatives: Family Erinaceidae; related to other Old World hedgehogs and, more distantly, to moles and shrews.
• How to spot it: Round body covered in thousands of brown-and-cream spines, with a soft furry face and belly.

Its body & abilities

• Size: Body length about 20-30 cm.
• Weight: Usually 600-1200 g, heaviest just before winter hibernation.
• Body & adaptations: About 5,000-7,000 hollow spines and special back muscles that let it curl into a spiky ball.
• Top speed: Surprisingly quick, running up to about 6 km/h.
• Strength: Can travel a couple of kilometers in a single night while foraging.
• Senses: Excellent sense of smell and hearing; eyesight is poor.
• Growing up: Blind, spineless-looking pink babies (hoglets) grow soft spines within hours and are weaned in weeks.

Where it lives

• Habitat: Woodland edges, hedgerows, farmland, parks, and gardens.
• Where in the world: Western and northern Europe, widely introduced to New Zealand.
• Territory: Ranges over gardens and fields each night rather than defending a fixed patch.

What it eats

• Diet: Insectivore that also drinks water; does not need milk despite the myth.
• Favorite foods: Beetles, worms, caterpillars, slugs, and other small invertebrates.
• How it hunts: Snuffles along the ground at night, sniffing out prey in soil and leaf litter.

How it behaves

• How it moves: Walks and trots on short legs, and can climb and swim if needed.
• When it is active: Mostly nocturnal, hibernating through the cold winter months.
• Family life: Solitary; there is no special collective name in common use.
• How it talks: Snuffles, grunts, and squeaks, and 'self-anoints' by spreading frothy saliva on its spines.
• Babies: After about 4-5 weeks of pregnancy, a female bears a litter of roughly 4-5 hoglets.

Its place in nature

• Role in nature: A natural pest-controller in gardens; preyed on by badgers, foxes, and owls.
• Conservation: Least Concern globally (IUCN), but declining in parts of Europe from habitat loss and roads.
• Dangers: Road traffic, cold winters, and predators are major causes of death.

Life & legacy

• How long it lives: Often 2-5 years in the wild and up to about 10 in captivity.
• In our culture: A beloved garden visitor in Europe and the inspiration for many storybook characters.
• Where to see it: Gardens, hedgerows, and parks across Europe, best spotted at dusk.
• Fun fact: When it meets a new smell, it may make foamy spit and lick it onto its own spines.