Hedgehog

Hedgehogs are small, spikey animals that can be found all over Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Hedgehogs get their name in two parts. Hedge and hog, because they live in bushes and hedgerows, and their snouts look a bit like a pig’s (hog is another word for pig). In fact, they used to also be called hedgepigs, furze-pigs, and urchins.

Hedgehogs are most known for their spikey backs; those are made from keratin. Keratin is the same thing that hair, fingernails, and horns are made of.

Much like your teeth, a baby hedgehog will lose its baby spines and grow out its adult spines.

Hedgehogs are nocturnal, so they mostly come out at night and sleep during the day. They sleep in hedges, in dens that they have dug, or under rocks, wherever they feel secure.

When hedgehogs find a new smell, they’ll chew up the source of that smell, like a leaf, and put it on their spines like a paste. Scientists think this might be a way to camouflage their scent.

Hedgehogs are actually very good at communication, they can grunt, squeal, and snuffle.

Hedgehogs have an immunity to some snake venom, which means their body can fight off the effects of the venom a bit.

Their diet consists of insects, eggs, roots, berries, even snails and frogs. This makes them omnivores as they eat meat and plants.