Unusual Facts about Hedgehogs

Facts about Hedgehogs

Unusual and interesting information and trivia about animals from our collection of interesting facts about Hedgehogs. Perfect for fast homework help that is suitable for kids, children and adults.

Did you Know? List of Facts about Hedgehogs
Facts are statements which are held to be true and often contrasted with opinions and beliefs. Our unusual and interesting facts about Hedgehogs, trivia and information, including some useful statistics about animals will fascinate everyone from kids and children to adults. Interesting Facts about Hedgehogs are as follows:

Fact 1 - Definition: A hedgehog is a small, insect eating, mammal characterized by its spiny back and by its habit of rolling itself into a ball when attacked, like a porcupine. Native to Europe, Asia and Africa
Fact 2 - It is able to roll itself into a ball so as to present the spines outwardly in every direction.
Fact 3 - It is nocturnal in its habits, feeding chiefly upon insects
Fact 4 - The spines of hedgehogs are non-barbed
Fact 5 - There are 15 species of hedgehogs
Fact 6 - Hedgehogs can climb trees!
Fact 7 - Whenever threatened hedgehogs curlinto a ball by lowering its quills, making use of the two large muscles on either side of its back
Fact 8 - Hedgehogs stats and facts
Weight: 1.5 to 2.0 kg
Length: 15 to 30 cm
Habitat: hedgerows, fields, open woods and gardens
Lifespan: 2 to 7 years
Diet: Hedgehogs are omnivores
Fact 9 - Hedgehogs can swim!
Fact 10 - Hedgehogs hibernate in the winter
Fact 11 - The most common types of domesticated hedgehogs is a result of crossing a Four-toed Hedgehog with a North African Hedgehog
Fact 12 - The collective name for a group is an Array
Fact 13 - Males are called Boar
Fact 14 - Females are called Sow
Fact 15 - The names given to babies are Pup or piglet
Facts about the Hedgehogs - Scientific Names / Classification
Scientific Names / Classification of Hedgehogs - The scientists who study animals (zoology) are called zoologists. Each animal that is studied is classified, that is, split into descriptive groups starting with main groups (vertebrates and invertebrates) the Families of animals are also included and the families are then split into species. These various scientific facts about Hedgehogs are as follows:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Erinaceomorpha
Family: Erinaceidae
Subfamily: Erinaceinae

Interesting facts:

Hedgehogs appeared on Earth 50 millions years ago and have not changed too much since that time.

Hedgehogs can cope with a lot of poisons. One gram of poison which would kill 300 people kills only 8 hedgehogs.

In the ancient Rome hedgehogs has been used as brushes!

A hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute on average!

Interesting Hedgehog Facts

•Hedgehogs have poor eyesight but a great sense of smell - so good that they can even smell the scent of an earthworm underground
•Hedgehogs can swim but can become trapped in pools and ponds with steep sides
•As many as 500 fleas live amongst a hedgehogs’ spines
•Hedgehogs can wander for up to 3 km a night in search of food
•Young hedgehogs are called ‘pups’ or ‘hoglets’
•The Latin for ‘hedgehog’ is Erinaceus which means ‘spiky wall’
•The Irish word for hedgehog is ‘gráinneog’ - meaning ‘horrible one’
•Hedgehogs occasionally perform an unusual ritual of ‘self-anointing’. This occurs when they come across a strong or an unfamiliar scent. The hedgehog will lick and bite the source and then form scented frothy saliva which it pastes over its spines with its tongue. Some believe that this ‘anointing’ camouflages the hedgehog with the scent of the area and possibly provides a poison or a source of infection to predators that come into contact with its spines.

Hedgehogs are usually associated with children' stories, due to their cuteness and interesting behavior. I remember when I was little I once saw an image that was meant to represent the autumn season: a hedgehog carrying an apple on its back. It also gave me the idea that those spines that made him look rather defensive and hostile were really of great use to the animal after all. Those spines are, in fact, hollow hairs stiffened with keratin.

At any rate, due to their innocent looks and playful nature, hedgehogs have been more and more regarded as potential pets. Nonetheless, it is illegal to own a hedgehog in some U.S. regions, and also in the Scandinavian part of Europe. Illegal in some countries, still hedgehogs have been introduced for instance in New Zealand, with the intention to exterminate certain snake and insect species. But this idea proved to be quite damaging for the creatures of the island, as the number of hedgehogs increased and they consumed more than it was expected from them.

The best defense a hedgehog uses against the perils of the outside world is its rolling into a ball, with all the spines pointed upwards. The effectiveness of this still yet depends on the number of spines, and the number of spines or quills depends on the species of hedgehog.

The fascination for hedgehogs and their desire to protect such lovely creatures has gone so far that McDonald's actually modified its design for the celebrated McFlurry containers, making them more "hedgehog-friendly." The funny thing about it is that hedgehogs used to get their heads inside those containers, to eat the leftovers, and then they couldn't escape anymore, and even ended up dying of starvation.

Unlikely as it may see, hedgehogs do represent a source of food in some cultures. For instance, they were highly appreciated by the ancient Egyptians or by the Middle Age people, who were in favor of hedgehog meat. However, hedgehogs are still eaten in some cultures these days, or they are used for medical treatments.

One of the ways of cooking hedgehogs is by covering them with clay, then baking them in it. When the clay is being cracked open, the pines are removed. This practice is known to be widely spread among gypsy communities.

Since they were quite popular in Europe, due to their cute aspect and there presumably hard-working nature, there were plenty of hedgehogs present in the folklore culture. They are thought to collect all sorts of foods on their backs, like fruit or mushrooms. This idea was to be found at least from the Roman period, when the author of Naturalis Historia, Pliny the Elder, refers to hedgehogs collecting grapes on their back quills.

The true fact is hedgehogs lack the habit of storing food for hard times, because they hibernate and so they actually rely on depositing fat on their bodies instead of gathering crops. One of the reasons why they are pictured as carrying all sorts of things on their back is because it makes them look adorable. Hedgehog images were in fact used to stimulate environment protection. In the years 1970s and 1980s, hedgehogs represented the idea of protecting nature all around the European continent. Since plenty of hedgehogs were killed in car accidents. Because of that, they managed to keep their aura of lovely, friendly, playful little animals, that are part of the environment and therefore made it worth keeping it safe and clean.

Another myth related to these animals is that they like drinking milk, while the truth is they are intolerant to all milk products.

Some other common picture of hedgehogs, this time in accordance with reality, is their hibernating in places filled with autumn leaves. This also helps them build their cute reputation.

Because of this reputation, hedgehogs are all over in children's literature, and this gives people ideas like, why not keep a hedgehog as a pet? There are a few answers to this, especially due to the fact that hedgehogs hate living in captivity. They like to create their own world in the wilderness of nature, and to keep their eating, sleeping, playing habits for their very own pleasure, instead of entertaining humans.
By Claudia Miclaus