February 2, 2024 -
The day of the hedgehog
From the perspective of Gut Aiderbichl
(written by Gisela Pschenitschnig)
Where does the hedgehog get its name from? Snakes are one of the hedgehog's favorite foods, which is why hedgehog means "belonging to the snake" or "snake eater".
The hedgehog family are insectivores, and there are various groups of these interesting animals. There are the rat hedgehogs or hairy hedgehogs, the big-eared hedgehogs or steppe hedgehogs, the spiny hedgehogs or the true hedgehog, to which group the European hedgehog also belongs.
Hedgehogs can even be found in Africa in the area between Senegal and Kenya. There lives the white-bellied hedgehog, which is somewhat smaller than the European hedgehog. In America and also in Europe, people have started to breed the white-bellied hedgehog and they are increasingly being kept as pets. Hedgehogs want to move around a lot and they suffer if they are kept in cages or terrariums. In the wild, the white hedgehog lives up to six years, in captivity it barely reaches two years.
The hedgehog's natural habitat
Whether in America, Europe or Africa, the hedgehog's natural habitat is being increasingly threatened and destroyed everywhere. The changing climate is a major challenge for hedgehogs.
The early warmth in spring and the associated drought is not only a problem for humans, but also for hedgehogs in particular.
Dry soil means that the hedgehog's diet is very limited, how is he supposed to find worms or snails in dry soil?
Hedgehogs normally go into hibernation at temperatures below 15 degrees. The body temperature drops from 36 degrees to 6 degrees. The little friend's heartbeat drops from 180 beats per minute to 20 beats. The hedgehog only wakes up briefly every 30 days and then goes straight back to sleep. As soon as the temperature rises above 15 degrees, the little round nose becomes lively again and goes in search of food, as the hedgehog loses up to two-fifths of its body weight over the winter, which is usually one to one and a half kilos.
Due to the mild winters, more and more hedgehogs are giving up hibernation and entering the mating season earlier. The first offspring are born at the end of January and cold snaps are fatal for the young hedgehogs.
Climate change, associated droughts and water shortages as well as pesticides mean that hedgehogs are generally also becoming more susceptible to disease.
How do hedgehogs communicate with each other?
Hedgehogs can make themselves heard quite loudly. They chatter and gurgle when they get excited. During the mating season, the little prickly friends hiss very loudly. Hedgehogs' cries of fear and pain sound very loud and shrill and are reminiscent of the screeching of a saw
How can you help a hedgehog "in distress"?
There are numerous hedgehog shelters in Austria. If you discover a hedgehog in your garden during the winter months, a call to the various Austrian hedgehog friends will definitely help. They will give you advice on how to get the hedgehog through a winter that is too warm, or how to help the hedgehog find food and water in summers that are too warm.
The soul is the same in all living beings, even if their bodies are different
~Hippocrates
The hedgehog is one of the many small, wonderful creatures in nature - slow down next time a little spiky friend with short legs tries to cross the road as quickly as possible.
- With this in mind, Yours sincerely, Gisela
