Hedgehog 30cm - Soft Toy

Physical Characteristics
Hedgehogs have a coat of stiff, sharp spines. If attacked they will curl into a prickly and unappetizing ball that deters most predators. They usually sleep in this position during the day and awaken to search for food at night. While on the hunt, they rely upon their senses of hearing and smell because their eyesight is weak. Size: Head and body, 13 to 30 cm with a tail of 3 to 5 cm. Hedgehogs weigh between 397 and 1,106 g.

Habitat
There are some 15 species of hedgehog in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Hedgehogs have also been introduced into nontraditional ranges such as New Zealand. They normally occupy hedgerows and are common garden creatures.

Behaviour
The hedgehog was named because of its peculiar foraging methods. These animals root through hedges and other undergrowth in search of the small creatures that compose the bulk of their diet, and as a hedgehog picks its way through the hedges it emits piglike grunts! Hedgehogs hibernate in colder climates. In deserts, they sleep through heat and drought in a similar process called aestivation. They remain active all year in more temperate locations.

Breeding
Hedgehogs are solitary animals that typically couple only for mating. Hedgehog mothers have also been known to eat their young if the nest is disturbed, though they sometimes simply move them to a new nest. Baby hedgehogs are called hoglets!

Diet
A hedgehog's diet is made up of insects, worms, centipedes, snails, mice, frogs, and snakes.

Strange and Interesting Facts
The Hedgehog is known as the "gardener's friend" as it will eat slugs, beetles, caterpillars.