The eared hedgehog belongs to insectivorous animals and lives in open steppe expanses. This is a representative of the same family as, but nevertheless, outwardly, these brothers are not very similar and differ in body structure. The eared hedgehog is small, its body length does not exceed 20 cm. The needles are no more than 2.5 cm long. The sides are covered with soft hair. The body is rounded, looks awkward. The limbs are long, but the tail is short. The most characteristic sign of an eared hedgehog is long, longer than half the length of the head, bent forward, ears. The hairline of the eared hedgehog on the sides of the body is reddish-gray in color, the tummy is bright white with a slight fawn yellowish tint.
Description of the eared hedgehog
Eared hedgehog is a small animal. Its body is 12-27 cm long, the tail is 17-23 mm long. Only one of the subspecies, which lives in Pakistan and Afghanistan, is slightly larger and reaches 30 cm in length. Weight for males does not exceed 430 g, for females it is 200-500 g. That is, on average, an eared hedgehog is two times smaller than an ordinary hedgehog.
The main difference from the common hedgehog for this species is the large size of the ears, the length of which reaches 5 cm. The paws are high. The muzzle is sharp. A strip of bare skin is visible on the forehead, the so-called "parting". The coat is light, soft, on the muzzle it is painted in gray-black or light brown. Brown color. Needles are only on the back. They are thin and short, 17-19 mm long, longitudinally covered with ridges and furrows. The needles can have different colors depending on the region where the eared hedgehog lives: from light straw shades to completely black. Hedgehogs in Afghanistan and Pakistan are brown. Albino hedgehogs are very rare.
Features of the nutrition of the eared hedgehog
The basis of the diet of the eared hedgehog is made up of various small animals, mainly insects, for example, beetles (runner, darkling, lingering, beetle) and ants. The hedgehog easily finds such food in sufficient quantities for itself in the steppes among plants. It can also take lizards, frogs, small rodents, chicks and bird eggs. The eared hedgehog also diversifies its diet with the help of plant foods: berries, seeds, fruits.
The long-eared hedgehog is able to live long enough without food and water - about 10 weeks, according to researchers.
Interestingly, if a poisonous animal (for example, a viper) got into the food of an eared hedgehog, then the hedgehog will not suffer from its bite. Without any harm to the body, the eared hedgehog is able to eat T-shirt beetles, which contain a strong poison - cantharidin.
When the eared hedgehog is looking for food, he runs fast, much faster than an ordinary hedgehog. If someone catches up with an eared hedgehog, then he will not twist all over, like an ordinary one, but will only bend his head down, will hiss and jump up in an attempt to stab the enemy with needles.
The spread of the eared hedgehog
The habitat of the eared hedgehog includes dry steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. It inhabits the territory of Israel, Libya, Egypt, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia. In Russia, the eared hedgehog is distributed from the Don and the Volga region to the Ob. A small population lives in Ukraine, where the animal can be found singly in the southeast of the country.
The favorite habitats of the eared hedgehog are dry, clay and sandy lands. In modern conditions environment, for example, due to the continuous plowing of the steppes, the range of this inhabitant of the steppes is noticeably reduced.
Male and female eared hedgehog: main differences
For the eared hedgehog, sexual dimorphism is not expressed, the male and female do not have noticeable external differences.
Eared hedgehog behavior
Eared hedgehogs are inhabitants of dry steppes and semi-deserts, where they live near river valleys, irrigated lands, wet ravines, abandoned ditches. Often they can be seen close to human habitation. Not suitable for eared hedgehogs are steppes and deserts with sparse vegetation that quickly burns out, and tugai thickets with tall dense grasses.
The animal is active only at night, when it travels 7-9 km, during the day it usually hides or sleeps in its shelters. With the onset of dusk, he goes hunting, and at dawn he looks for a place to rest. The daytime shelter of the eared hedgehog is depressions on the ground, under roots, a stone or a bush. In addition to such temporary shelters, the eared hedgehog digs holes for itself up to 150 cm in length, or occupies an abandoned burrow of a gerbil, fox or other animal. The burrow burrows at a depth of up to 50 cm, at an angle, on hillsides or under bushes. Its extended end is a lair in which the females give birth.
In autumn, the eared hedgehog actively accumulates fat. Hibernation begins in October-November, awakening occurs in March-April. In general, the hibernation of the eared hedgehog is not as strong as that of the common hedgehog. He wakes up easily and even eats. In warm regions, the hedgehog only hibernates when there is no food.
Eared hedgehog breeding
In cold regions, females give birth once a year, in warm regions - twice. The breeding season in warm climates begins in July-September, in cold countries - in April. The female chases the male away after mating and proceeds to build or expand the brood burrow. The duration of pregnancy in a female eared hedgehog is 45 days, and at the beginning 4-7 blind, naked, bright babies are born. On their backs, they have a shallow furrow with small soft rudiments of needles. Newborn hedgehogs cannot twist into a ball, at the age of about 7 days they begin to crawl. At two weeks, they begin to see clearly and can curl well, and are also covered with hard needles, and at three weeks they calmly leave the hole to bask in the sun and begin to taste adult food. Breastfeeding continues for the first six weeks of life. At about 50 days, young hedgehogs begin independent adulthood. Sexual maturity in females occurs at 11-12 months, in males - at 2 years. In captivity, the eared hedgehog lives on average 3-6 years.
Natural enemies of the eared hedgehog
The eared hedgehog is more agile than its relative, the common hedgehog. In case of danger, he reluctantly twists into a ball, but only tilts his head, starts to hiss and tries to prick the attacker.
The species is resistant to elevated temperatures and many poisons (snake, bee and wasp). Resistance, for example, to viper venom is 45 times higher than that of a guinea pig.
This species is a subject of hunting for birds of prey, badgers, foxes, wolves. Ixodid ticks live on it, which carry a disease such as piroplasmosis in domestic animals.
Interesting Eared Hedgehog Facts:
- Eared hedgehogs are an important and valuable economic species, as they eat pests and rodents, and therefore are useful, especially if they live next to a person.
- The species is listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and needs protection. For this reason, eared hedgehogs are kept in reserves and try to increase the population. At the same time, it is especially important to preserve their natural habitat, for example, dry steppes. Since it is the reduction of habitable lands for the eared hedgehog that is one of the main reasons for the decline in the population of this species.
Systematics
Russian name- Eared hedgehog
Latin name - Erinaceus auritus or Hemiechinus auritus
English name– Long-eared hedgehog
Class– Mammals (Mammalia)
Squad - Insectivora (Insectivora)
Family - Hedgehogs (Erinaceidae)
The status of the species in nature
The long-eared hedgehog belongs to the protected species with minimal threat, the international status is IUCN (LC). This is a relatively small species, but its range is stable, and the number does not experience serious fluctuations. In Russia, the species is listed in the Red Books of the Saratov and Chelyabinsk regions, Bashkortostan, and in the Red Book of Ukraine.
View and person
Eared hedgehogs rarely approach a human dwelling. Animals taken at a young age into a person's house are tamed. But if eared hedgehogs enter a person’s house as an adult, they feel bad: they usually refuse food (by the way, milk should not be offered to hedgehogs at all, because it causes serious digestive problems) and desperately run around the room, trying their best get out free. Under natural conditions, eared hedgehogs exterminate a lot of insects harmful to agriculture.
Distribution and habitats
Eared hedgehog is found in dry steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. Prefers thickets of shrubs and windbreaks, dry river valleys, ravines, abandoned ditches, irrigated lands, wet ravines, oases and near water bodies. Avoids plowed spaces and areas with high dense herbage, as well as with sparse, quickly burning vegetation. close settlements prefer to settle in abandoned gardens, unused and overgrown canals of irrigation systems, pastures. In the mountains, eared hedgehogs can climb to a height of 2400 m.
The distribution of the species is very wide: it inhabits Israel, Libya, Egypt, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, partly India, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang Uygur region of China and Mongolia (Gobi desert). On the territory of Russia, it is found from the lower reaches of the Don and the Volga steppes to the Ob, as well as in the Novosibirsk region.
Appearance
Eared hedgehog is very large auricles(ear length 3–5 cm). They are not only an organ of hearing, but also help the animal regulate body temperature, preventing overheating. In them, at the very surface of the skin, there is a dense network of capillaries, and when the air temperature rises, the vessels in the ears expand, and the air blowing around the ears cools the blood in them. The eared hedgehog is a small animal, its body length ranges from 12 to 23 cm, tail length - from 2 to 4 cm, hind foot length - 3-4 cm. Representatives living in Pakistan and Afghanistan can reach 30 cm in length. An eared hedgehog in nature weighs 220–350 g, which is two to three times less than the weight of an ordinary and white-breasted hedgehog. Unlike other Eurasian hedgehogs, the long-eared hedgehog has quill-shaped hair that protects only the back. The color of the dorsal side is usually dark brown. The ventral side of the body is covered with light gray or white fluffy fur. The same fur covers the sides, as well as the shoulders, forearms and hips. The head is graceful, wedge-shaped, light brown or gray-black in color with an elongated facial region. The legs of the eared hedgehog are longer than those of other hedgehogs, which allows the animal to be a good runner.
Lifestyle and social organization
Like other types of hedgehogs, eared hedgehogs live alone, meeting only during the breeding season, in the spring. The meeting of two males during the mating season always ends in a fight, while each of them seeks to stab the enemy in unprotected places - ears and legs. Hedgehogs are most active in the evening and at night. The hedgehog spends the day in a shelter. Eared hedgehogs easily tolerate high temperatures and are quite resistant to overheating. By autumn, hedgehogs gain fat, find or dig a deep hole, which is lined with dry leaves and hibernate in October-November until March-April. The hedgehog wakes up just in time for the first invertebrates to emerge. In warm areas where there are no cold winters, eared hedgehogs hibernate only in the absence of food. Usually a leisurely hedgehog, hearing the sounds of potential prey or sensing danger, can run with great agility. Its main enemies are stray dogs, badger, steppe eagle, eagle owl, fox, wolf, marsh harrier, kite, gyurza. From danger, the eared hedgehog, unlike other hedgehogs, seeks to escape, and not endure a long siege. When a predator approaches, at first it only bends its head down, and only with a persistent onslaught does it reluctantly curl up into a ball for a short time. In a frightened state, he uses desperate defensive behavior: he puffs loudly and, feeling a touch on him, jumps sharply low, trying to prick the attacker in the nose (or arm, if it is a person).
Feeding and feeding behavior
The eared hedgehog actively hunts, while searching for food it is able to travel long distances (up to 7–9 kilometers). On his hunting area, he always has a hole (sometimes up to 150 cm long), ending with a nesting chamber, which he digs himself or uses abandoned burrows of ground squirrels, corsacs and other animals. Often spends daylight hours in temporary shelters - small depressions in the ground, under roots and bushes. Eared hedgehogs hear perfectly, they instantly react to the slightest rustle and rush to the source of sounds. A well-developed sense of smell allows him to find grass in every curtain and every crevice of hidden insects and other animals. The basis of the diet of eared hedgehogs is always ants, grasshoppers, crickets, ground beetles, snails, centipedes, arachnids, and also harmful agriculture human butterfly caterpillars, locust beetles, click beetles, darkling beetles, beetles and kuska beetles and the larvae of all these beetles. In addition to terrestrial invertebrates, they eat spadefoot frogs, toads, lizards, eggs, chicks and sometimes adults of birds nesting on the ground, as well as small snakes (steppe viper). The eared hedgehog is still unable to catch up with adult mice and voles, however, it willingly eats rodents caught unawares in burrows. An additional delicacy and a source of vitamins for the eared hedgehog are flowers rarely found in its habitats, succulent shoots and fruits of some plants. Eared hedgehogs have an amazing resistance to dangerous toxins: they can feed on bedbugs and blister beetles, which are avoided by other predators due to the fact that these insects contain strong poisons in their bodies. At adverse conditions hedgehogs are sometimes able to do without food and water for several weeks.
Vocalization
Being driven and attacked by a persistent predator or a man, the hedgehog puffs and bounces very loudly. During the mating season, males begin to "sing": make characteristic sounds.
Reproduction and parenting behavior
The breeding season for eared hedgehogs in warm countries begins in July - September, in Russia - in April. The males start their fights for the female. The courtship of males for females is also never too tender and touching, they are more like a meeting of two rivals. After mating, the female immediately expels the male, starting to dig a brood hole. The brood hole reaches a length of 95 cm and a width of 13 cm. In cold areas, the hedgehog gives birth to cubs once a year, in warm areas - up to two times a year. Pregnancy lasts 35-42 days and ends with the birth of 3-8 (more often - 4) blind, deaf and naked hedgehogs. Newborns weigh about 12 grams. Two hours after birth, they are covered with sparse soft needles, and by 15 days the needle cover is already well expressed and the needles become hard. After 7-10 days, the hedgehogs open their eyes. At three weeks, the babies try adult food, and at 35 days, the female stops producing milk. At the age of 50 days hedgehogs begin an independent life. Females reach sexual maturity at 11–12 months, males usually at 2 years.
Lifespan
The life expectancy of a hedgehog of this species in natural conditions is 3-4 years, in captivity - 3-6 years.
History of Life at the Zoo
In zoos around the world, this is a common species, as it lives well in captivity. Eared hedgehogs have been kept in the Moscow Zoo for a long time. Eared hedgehogs are fed the same way as all other hedgehogs: the daily diet includes meat, newborn mice, grated carrots, chicken eggs, cottage cheese, live insects. You can see the eared hedgehog in the Night World pavilion in the summer, as hedgehogs sleep in winter.
Name: eared hedgehog, desert hedgehog.
Area:
Southeastern Europe, Central and Central Asia, India, Arabia, Kazakhstan, Southwestern Siberia, Transcaucasia, North Africa, Libya, Egypt, Israel, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia (Gobi Desert), Iraq, Iran, Cyprus.
In the mountains, the eared hedgehog rises up to 2500 m above sea level.
Description:
only the hedgehog's back is covered with needles. The needles are thin and short (17-19 mm) with longitudinal ridges and grooves. The sides and underside of the body are covered with hair. On the forehead there is a "parting" - a strip of bare skin. The fur is short and soft. The muzzle is sharp. The ears are long (31-39 mm), movable, bent back, close the eyes. Eared hedgehog regulates body temperature with the help of ears. The legs are longer than those of the common hedgehog.
The nasal part of the skull from the sides and from above tapers anteriorly. The pterygoid processes are not swollen and do not form a cavity connecting with the cavity of the auditory chambers.
Color: the fur on the belly and chest of the hedgehog is whitish or light gray, often monophonic, on the muzzle from gray-black to light brown. The color of the needles depends on the habitat: from black to light straw. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the fur is brown. Albinos are extremely rare.
Size: eared hedgehog body length 14-230 mm, tail up to 17-35 mm, hind foot 29-39 mm, ear length 29-49 mm. Condylobasal skull length 54-60 mm. In Pakistan and Afghanistan, it grows up to 30 cm.
Weight: in nature 220-350 gr, in captivity up to 650 gr (pregnant female).
Lifespan: in captivity 3-6 years (average 3-4 years).
Habitat: open spaces - deserts, semi-deserts, dry steppes. Dry river valleys, ravines, windbreaks, abandoned ditches, oases, irrigated lands, reservoirs, around human habitation. In the strip of steppes, the eared hedgehog avoids areas with dense herbage and plowed areas. It rises to the mountains up to a height of 2400 m.
Enemies:
stray dogs, birds, bear, badger, steppe eagle, eagle owl, fox, wolf, marsh harrier, kite, viper.
Feeding features:
eared hedgehog is omnivorous - worms, spiders, beetles, snails, grasshoppers, bugs, ants, caterpillars, mollusks, centipedes, insects (as well as their larvae and pupae), lizards, snakes, frogs and toads, mouse-like rodents, destroys bird nests (eats eggs and chicks), shoots, seeds, plant fruits, flowers, fruits and vegetables, moss, carrion.
The diet changes depending on the season. Can go without food and water for a long time (up to 10 weeks!).
Behavior:
active at night (up to 7-9 km per night), spends the day in a hole. The eared hedgehog uses burrows that it digs itself or empty burrows of rodents as shelters. Depending on the soil, the depth of the hole is 1-1.5 m. The wide and low entrance hole leads to a steeply descending passage. The nesting chamber is placed in a lateral outlet located not far from the inlet.
In summer, it uses temporary shelters - depressions in the ground under roots, bushes and stones. By autumn accumulates fat. In cold areas, it hibernates in October-November, which ends in March-April.
In northern India, hibernation lasts up to 3.5 months, in the mountains of Pakistan - from October to March. It does not hibernate in warm areas, hibernates only in the absence of food. In case of danger, it does not roll into a ball, but bending down its head and tries to prick the enemy with needles or tries to run away. Resistant to overheating, easily tolerates high temperatures. Excellent hearing and sense of smell, but poor eyesight. He does not know how to specifically wear anything on thorns. He avoids encounters with snakes, but if he meets, he tries to kill her with a lightning-fast bite to the back of the head. The eared hedgehog is very resistant to snake venom. When two males meet, a fight occurs, in which each male tries to stab the enemy in unprotected legs and ears.
Social structure: loner.
Reproduction: in cold areas, the hedgehog gives birth to cubs once a year, in warm areas - up to two times a year. Having met a female, the male tries to approach her, but the female does not let him near her at first. Sometimes it comes down to small fights. After mating, the female chases the male away and starts building a nest. Brood burrow up to 95 cm long, 13 cm wide, often with lateral vents. Nest chamber without litter.
Season/breeding period: in warm countries - July-September, in Russia - April.
Puberty: hedgehogs at 11-12 months, hedgehogs at 2 years.
Pregnancy:
35-42 days.
Offspring: the hedgehog gives birth to 3-8 naked cubs, which are covered with soft needles after two hours. In the first 5 hours after birth, the length of the needles increases by 4 times, and after 2 weeks the hedgehogs are completely covered with a prickly shell. After 7-10 days, the eyes of the hedgehogs open, after three weeks the cubs eat adult food. Lactation lasts up to 35 days. At the age of 50 days hedgehogs begin an independent life.
Benefit / harm to people: eared hedgehog eats a large number of harmful insects, including termites and scorpions. It is the host of ixodid ticks.
Population/conservation status: the species is listed in the Red Books of the Urals, Chelyabinsk region, Bashkortostan.
Eared hedgehogs are quite small animals: body length ranges from 12 to 27 cm, tail - from 1 to 5 cm. Representatives living in Pakistan and Afghanistan can reach 30 cm in length. Eared representatives of hedgehogs are almost half the size of ordinary hedgehogs - their weight in nature is 250-400 g, and in captivity a pregnant female can reach 650 grams.
The color of soft fur on the chest and belly of the hedgehog is light gray or whitish, on the muzzle it can be shaded from gray-black to light brown. Afghan and Pakistani eared hedgehogs have brown fur. Short and thin needles cover only the back, practically not extending to the sides of the animal. Their color depends on the habitat: from light straw to black, but they are mostly light, colored with dark brown and white stripes. The sharp muzzle of the hedgehog is decorated with long movable ears, slightly bent back. They help regulate body temperature. The legs of an eared hedgehog are longer than those of an ordinary hedgehog.
In habitual habitats - semi-deserts and dry steppes - it adheres to dry river valleys, abandoned ditches, irrigated lands, wet ravines. Often settles near settlements, in forest belts, oases and reservoirs, around human habitation. Areas of deserts and steppes with high dense herbage and with poor, quickly drying vegetation, hedgehogs avoid. The mountains can climb to a height of 2400 m.
The peak of activity of the eared hedgehog falls on the dark time of the day: during the night, a small traveler in search of food can “wind” 7-9 km. In the daytime, as a refuge, he uses a hole that he digs himself, or inhabits the empty holes of foxes, gerbils, and other animals. The depth of the hole, depending on the soil, can reach 100-150 cm. In summer, hedgehogs often use temporary shelters, which are small depressions in the ground under bushes, roots and stones. By the arrival of autumn, they accumulate a sufficient amount of fat and in late October-early November they hibernate, which ends in late March-early April. Inhabitants of warm regions fall into hibernation only in the absence of food.
Eared hedgehogs are solitary animals. They do not create groupings or pairs on long time. They are ready to sacrifice their loneliness only during the breeding season. In warm regions, it occurs in July-September, and in Russia - in April. During the mating season, males begin to sing. Having met a female, he approaches her, but she does not immediately let him in, often it even comes to small fights. After mating, the male's participation in the process of raising offspring ends - the female drives him away and begins to expand or build a new hole. Pregnancy eared hedgehogs lasts 35-42 days. Usually the litter consists of 3-8 naked babies, which are covered with soft needles after two hours. By two weeks, they are replaced by hard ones, and the hedgehogs already have a fully formed spiny shell. Babies open their eyes after 7-10 days, and at the age of three weeks they already eat adult food.
Young hedgehogs begin independent life after 50 days after birth. Females reach puberty at 11-12 months, males at 2 years. In warm areas, the hedgehog gives birth to cubs up to two times a year, in cold areas - only once. The life expectancy of a hedgehog of this species in natural conditions is 3-4 years, in captivity - 3-6 years.
The diet of eared hedgehogs depends on the season, but it mainly consists of insects, especially they like to eat beetles, ants, spiders, grasshoppers, bugs, centipedes. They also often eat worms, snails, caterpillars and molluscs. In isolated cases, they can be reinforced by toads, lizards, snakes, mouse-like rodents, bird eggs and chicks. Occasionally they eat vegetable food - fruits, seeds, shoots, flowers, fruits of plants, moss and vegetables. Able to live for quite a long time without water and food - in artificial conditions up to 10 weeks.
They easily tolerate high temperatures and are quite resistant to overheating. They have an excellent sense of smell and hearing, but their eyesight is poor. Unlike other representatives of the hedgehog family, they do not know how to put on and wear anything on their spines. They are particularly resistant to certain toxins: wasp, bee and snake venom. For example, an eared animal is 45 times more resistant to viper venom than a guinea pig. A lethal dose of poison for him - 0.1 g of cantharidin - can kill about 20 people. He tries to avoid encounters with snakes, but if the meeting did occur, the hedgehog seeks to kill it with lightning speed with a bite to the back of the head.
Eared hedgehogs are much more agile than their Western European relatives. When danger arises, they rarely curl up into a ball, more often they try to escape, jumping and hissing at the same time, or even attack an approaching predator, trying to prick it with their relatively short needles (17-19 mm). The owners of these cute creatures say that when they roll into a ball, they often pierce their long ears with needles, maybe this is the reason for their dislike for such a characteristic hedgehogs action.
The meeting of two males always ends in a fight, while each of them seeks to stab the enemy in unprotected places - ears and legs. Eared hedgehogs are beneficial to humans by eating a large number of pests, including scorpions and termites, but, being the hosts of ixodid ticks, can be dangerous.
Listed in the Red Books of Ukraine, Bashkortostan, the Urals and the Chelyabinsk region.
In 2012, the Bank of Mongolia placed a touching image of an eared hedgehog almost completely curled up in a ball on a silver coin of the Wildlife Conservation series. A total of 2,500 coins with a face value of 500 tugriks were issued.
Over the past few years, the popularity of long-eared hedgehogs as pets has increased significantly. To keep an unusual animal at home, you will need a spacious cage or box (at least 70 cm in length), covered with sand or sawdust. A wooden house should be placed there so that the animal has a place to rest. It is advisable to make more shelters (tunnels, caves), add stones, branches, be sure to put a drinking bowl, a wheel for running, a box of sand that the hedgehog will use as a toilet, and also add straw (for building a nest). It is best to expose the feeder for animals only at the time of feeding. It is necessary to clean the aviary every day. Caged hedgehogs need daily walks.
These heat-loving animals do not tolerate low temperatures, and colds and pneumonia are practically incurable for them, so its abode must be removed away from open windows and drafts.
There is another option for keeping an eared hedgehog - to settle him in a room where he himself will choose a place for himself "burrow". True, then the owner will rarely see his pet, since the biological rhythms of a person and a hedgehog do not coincide, and the hedgehog will be awake at a time when everyone in the house is sleeping. In addition, they move quite noisily around the house, loudly chasing their paws on the floor.
The eared hedgehog is a mammal that belongs to the hedgehog family. He is the smallest of his kind. The main feature of eared hedgehogs is elongated, protruding forward and very noticeable ears. With the help of his ears, he regulates body temperature, cooling through them in moments of overheating. This is due to closely spaced capillaries that expand at high temperatures and cool the body.
The genus of eared hedgehogs includes several species:
- Indian hedgehog;
- long-needle;
- eared;
- blue-bellied hedgehog;
- collar;
- Ethiopian.
The habitat of eared hedgehogs is very small. They are distributed mainly in North Africa, Europe and Asia. Eared hedgehog is also found on the territory of Russia.
Appearance
The size of the Eared Hedgehog does not exceed the ordinary one. The length of his body is from 25 to 30 cm, and the weight can reach 600 grams. The most weighty representatives of the genus are long-spined hedgehogs. They can gain weight up to 900 grams.
Grayish needles are thin and short, covering its entire back. Sometimes the color of the needles can become whitish. There are no needles on the muzzle, abdomen and sides - they are replaced by light soft fur. The color of the muzzle can occur from dark brown to light gray.
The head is small, the muzzle is oblong, the ears are much larger than the parameters of the head. The hedgehog has 36 sharp teeth in its mouth.
Lifestyle and character
The eared hedgehog is a nocturnal animal, its whole life proceeds under the cover of darkness. These mammals live alone, and form pairs only for the duration of mating. Eared hedgehogs are not afraid to go far from home, despite their size, they are very fast and agile.The habitat of the male hedgehog can reach 5 hectares, while the females own smaller territories - only 2-3 hectares.
This is interesting! In one night, the animal can run a distance of 8 kilometers.
The dwelling of hedgehogs is a hole that they dig up to a depth of 1.5 meters. Sometimes they just find an abandoned hole and occupy it. In autumn, hedgehogs become lethargic. At the first appearance of snow, they gradually begin to hibernate. But the dream of the Eared Hedgehog is sensitive, he wakes up during hibernation, sometimes even eat. The place for hibernation is a mink dug under a fallen tree, or at the foot of a hill.
In the northern territories, hedgehogs hibernate more often than in the southern ones. Wake up with the onset of spring. In India, for example, a hedgehog can go into hibernation for a period of about three months, and in Pakistan, where it is cold in the mountains in winter, animals sleep from late autumn to early spring.
In arid places, hedgehogs have a hard time. Lack of food, water - all this is a difficult test for a small animal. In such places, hedgehogs look for the most humid areas, where vegetation is most common and there is at least some water. It is for such conditions that they need big ears. In the desert, the air warms up to very high temperatures, and hedgehogs' ears save them from heatstroke.
These animals rarely settle in one place. They can stay for a long time in search of better and better territories for food.
Eared hedgehog at home
Keeping an eared hedgehog at home is quite easy. In general, he lives in captivity without problems if he was taken at an early age. This animal is well adapted to life in cages. If the hedgehog ends up in the house as an adult, then for him it can be a lot of stress, because of which the animal is likely to die. You can not take these animals home, finding them in the forest, as they carry many diseases. Most favorable environment for the hedgehog to live - the will, there he will bring more benefits, in comparison with the fact that he senselessly spends his life in a cage.
Hedgehog food can be found at many pet stores. Today, the Eared Hedgehog living at home in a cage is far from uncommon. You can buy a prickly baby in specialized nurseries. In a pet store, the cost fluctuates around 4000-7000 thousand rubles. It will also take about 5,000 rubles to buy a cage and all the necessary equipment for maintenance.
The hedgehog needs a spacious, large cage or wooden box that has high sides. The material poured into the cage is, first of all, sawdust, dry grass, straw. No newspapers or papers, such materials will be inconvenient for the hedgehog.
When buying a hedgehog, do not forget that the cage must always be cleared of feces, bowls must be clean, water is always poured. In dirty conditions, the eared hedgehog can easily catch an infection and die quickly without proper care.
Eared hedgehogs are very fond of free spaces. Therefore, simply putting an animal in a cage and forgetting about it will not work. You need to walk the animal at least 2 times a day for several hours in a room or in the summer (under supervision) on the street.
At night, the hedgehog will behave loudly, because it is a nocturnal animal. Therefore, if you have a light sleep, you will have to think about a separate room for the animal. When getting a Big-Eared Hedgehog, think a few times. This animal is not adapted to life in an apartment.
What to feed?
The favorite food of these animals is ants, beetles and insect larvae, various edible seeds, juicy berries. Sometimes small rodents or lizards can serve as food for hedgehogs. In addition, hedgehogs eat toads or shellfish. He can go hunting long distances, creating new dwellings for himself along the way, or occupying old burrows. Hedgehogs have good hearing, thanks to this they very quickly find prey and get it from hard-to-reach places.
Hedgehogs very rarely feed on vegetation. But sometimes young flowers, shoots and fruits appear in their diet.
It is very difficult for an eared hedgehog to fill his stomach to the fullest. He is constantly on the lookout for food. But, if nothing can be found, then hedgehogs easily survive the lack of food and water for 10 days.
Fact! Hedgehogs that hibernate need to gain as much fat as possible during the season. Therefore, during wakefulness, they are in constant search of food.
Animals living in more southern territories almost never hibernate. The only exceptions are cases when there is too little food in the habitat due to, for example, a dry summer.
Reproduction and longevity
Sexual maturity in females occurs earlier than in males. So, female Eared hedgehogs mature by the end of the first year of life. Males, on the other hand, enter the age of puberty only by two years.
The mating season comes with the onset of the spring thaw. For northern representatives, this period begins in late March - early April. In southern individuals - in early June. During the mating season, animals produce a pungent odor that attracts individuals to each other. Several males fight for the same female. They arrange carnage and bite in tender places: ears, noses, paws. The female is attracted to the strongest and most dominant.
As soon as mating has occurred, the male retires to his territory, and the female begins to search for a home for the birth of babies. She bears hedgehogs for one month. They are born in broods of 8-10 pieces, during this period they are naked, blind and deaf. Hedgehogs open their eyes about a month after birth. During this month, they actively feed on mother's milk, and then gradually switch to an independent search for food. As soon as hedgehogs reach two months, they begin to search for territory for independent living.
The life expectancy of Eared Hedgehogs at home can be 6-8 years. But in nature, they live much less due to high competition and the presence of a large number predators, now and then lying in wait for hedgehogs on the way. Hedgehogs like to profit from animals such as foxes, badgers, wolves.
Eared hedgehog in the red book
This species is listed in the Red Book. The Red Book includes only those animals whose species must be protected and preserved by all means.In Russia, it is found mainly in the steppe regions and in warm, as well as in temperate climates. Farmers value hedgehogs - they destroy harmful insects that cause tremendous damage to the crop.
Who is hunting the hedgehog?
Eared hedgehogs are afraid of large predators: bears, foxes, dogs, badgers. The foxes are trying to drive the hedgehog into the water - there he is helpless. In the water, the hedgehog has to swim, he straightens out of the lump and the fox grabs him by the nose. The badger against the hedgehog has a powerful weapon - sharp long claws and a wonderful scent.
Video: eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus)