Hedgehog is an animal that we still know from early childhood. Fairy tales and cartoons introduced us to him. But is it good enough in fact, do we know these spiny girls? Do you know what dangerous hedgehog or how is hedgehogible? And is it true that Yezhi wear apples and mushrooms on his back? In this article you will learn interesting facts about the hedgehogs and you can find answers to all these questions.

2. Everyone knows about the ability of heroes to turn into a spiny ball with danger. Herge needles serve him durable armor and protection. With such an outfit, hedgehog comes out the winner even in a fight with a viper. However, not only the needles allow him to win a fight. One of the most little-known facts about the hedgehog is that these animals are insensitive to many poisons. Arsenic, opium and even blue acid acts on the hecto.

3. We are accustomed to thinking about the hedgehogs as innocuous creatures. But despite this, they may well stand up for themselves. After all, they have no spiny needles at their disposal, but also 36 sharp teeth.

4. Many believe that hedgehog has no tail. But this is not the case - it has the tail. It's just very short, its length is only 3 cm. Of course, see such a small tail under the needles of the hedgehog is very difficult.

5. Despite its small sizes of the hedgehog, sustained animals. They can run at speeds up to 3 m / s. In addition, hedgehogs are well swimming and perfectly jumping, they have acute sense of smell and very sensitive hearing. That's just the vision of the hedgehogs.

6. A hedgehog is not afraid to spoil the figure. Since in the winter hedgehog flows into the hibernation, he dials on top of its usual weight in 800 grams another 500 grams of fat. Such reserves allow him not to die in winter from hunger and sleep peacefully until spring. It is curious that the body temperature of hedges during hibernation drops to 2 ° C - this is one of the most interesting facts about the hedgehogs.

7. Hedgehog is insectivorous. But its nutrition is not limited to insects. In addition to insects, hedgehog eat berries and fruits, mice and voles, sometimes reptiles and amphibians. Also, the hedgehog feed on eggs or chicks of small birds that arrange nests on Earth. Hedgehog can even eat a snake.

8. Hezhi is useful for the destruction of various harmful insects. These animals exterminate the May beetles, monastery caterpillars and the unpaired silkworm. In addition, the hedgehog destroys mice and pools. Hedgehog is the right guard of the garden. After all, where this spiny ball appears - rats and snakes leave.

9. First of all, Hedgehog hurts the ruin of bird nests. And this problem is relevant for both wildlife and pets. If you have a hedgehog in your country and there are chickens, then the hedgehogs pose a threat to them. But the greatest harm from hedgehogs is diseases. A hedgehog can tolerate diseases such as rabies, salmonellosis, dermatomycosis, yellow fever and others. In addition, there are a lot of ticks and fleas on the hedgehog. It bears the danger of animals on your cottage. In addition, the hedgehogs are the owners of Ixodic ticks.

10. Very often, the children find the hedgehog and bring it home, trying to make a pet pet from it. This is a big mistake. After all, hedgehogs are wild animals that lead a night lifestyle and cannot be prepared. In addition, they are carriers of serious diseases. In this regard, it is extremely undesirable for pets as domestic animals.

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Live next to people who hear about them relatively rarely. All because this night tramp is perfectly covered by human eye in the light of the day. Usually, his hedgehog comes on the hunt behind insects in the evening and at night. Before falling into the winter hibernation, it should accumulate a thick layer of fat. To overheat, a young journal need to weigh no less than 500 grams.

Hedgehogs are one of the oldest mammals on earth. There are only 16 different types of real hedgehogs. Two of them are often found in Central Europe: belogruda hedge, more common in the eastern part of the continent, including in Russia, and ordinary, or european, hedgehog.

In the evening and at night, this Liliput (a maximum of 30 centimeters in length) shows amazing activity: males are in search of feed 2-3 kilometers (the search area can reach 100 hectares), females are limited to the third area. Men's individuals are found with women only in the mating season - from spring until mid-summer. The mother takes care of the offspring, however, the youngsters of the cold should stand on their paws.

1. Nose and ears - The most important organs for night mammals. They see the hedgehog not very good, but the sense of smell and hearing are extremely strong.

2. Needles The hedgehog was originally wool. From the inside they are hollow, in length reach from 2 to 3 centimeters. For the year they are completely updated.

3. Having hurt the danger, the hedgehogs take a protective pose - collapsed in the ball and are sophisticated with needles ( they can be about 8 thousand).

4. For the time of winter hibernation A hedgehog is also folded into the ball to better protect against enemies.

5. On the legs are strong sharp claws, they need a hedgehog for the extraction of food.

7. Small sharp cutters and fangs allow the hedgehog to contact even solid chitin peckery beetles. Sometimes he is taking a palm, eggs and.

8. Young appear on approximately 35 days of pregnancy. The average brood size is 4-5 kids. The newborn has about a hundred barriers, and the eyes and ears are closed for the first two weeks. Mother feeds them six weeks, but after three and a half already produces from the nest, so that they independently sought themselves food.

9. Swimming - Not the most favorite Hedgehog. But, if necessary, he can cross a small river and get to the shore.

10. Needle animals perfectly carry a harsh winter In the hibernation. Adult male autumn can weigh good 1.5 kg.

11. For winter hibernation Hedgehog required warm, protected from bad weather nest. He looks for himself the openings in the roots, bushes, and other places to fill them with autumn foliage. Finally, he himself wraps in foliage in such a way that it forms around him the similarity of the protective layer.


Animals willingly occupy the corners already available in the garden: heaps of twigs, openings in stones stones and flies or laid capacitations like flower pots and baskets. In the spring and summer, hedgehog builds several nests at once on his site, only slightly stinging them with straw and foliage. The jack for winter hooks, on the contrary, should be well protected from the cold. As-nothing, he has to spend about five months in it without a break, significantly slowed down its metabolism at this time.

12. To natural enemies This barley animal includes night birds (for example, Filin) \u200b\u200band predatory mammals: fox, badger and cunning. Stray dogs and cats can also be a problem for him. But the greatest danger for hedgehis is a road with a lively movement and a cleared terrain without old trees and groves. Gardeners can correct the situation by creating comfortable conditions for the lives of our useful prickly neighbors. It will help the elevation or a fence of about 10 centimeters high so as not to prevent the movements of the hedgehog. It will give a needle mammal so necessary to him freedom.

Since most of the heroes are born at the end of summer, they remain not so much time to accumulate fat reserves before the winter onset. Therefore, it is extremely important that comfortable conditions are created in the fall for them. Learn more about how to create these conditions on your site, you can from №4 Country magazine. Style and lifestyle. "

Facts and myths about hedgehogs

Since childhood, we all know about the hedgehogs: they are dragging mushrooms and apples on the barns, so that there is a hungry winter, they love milk, do not sink in water and be friends with a bear. And in everything we are mistaken (except maybe the last)!

Jerzy do not like to meet with a man. They lead a nightlife in the forests of Europe, Asia and even Africa. Therefore, people came up with their own hedges, guided by fantasy and speculation. And that's what happened.

Joint-off
ERINACEUS EUROPAEUS)
Class - mammals
Detachment - insectivores
Family - ENGLES
Rod - ordinary hedgehogs
Ordinary, or European, hedgehog is a small animal. The body length rarely exceeds 30 cm, and the mass - 800 g. The hedgehog is constantly being available: the weight caught in insects and small vertebrates is often equal to their own weight of hedgehog.

Hedgehogs - relatives of the dictum

Not true
Despite the external similarity (which, however, is limited only by the presence of needles), dickeranes (Hystricidae) and hedgehog (Erinaceus Europaeus) are quite far away from each other on a phylogenetic tree. Dickerage is one of the families of the rodent squad, and the hedgehog belongs to the detachment of insectivores, and their closest relatives are moles and earthroowing. Unlike herbivore dickery, hedgehogs eat everything, and give preference to animal mining.

They can "shoot" needles

Not true
Herge needles are modified hair. Spines consist of keratin, they are hollow inside and strengthened by transverse partitions. Thanks to such a building, light needles are very strong - rolled by a ball, hedgehog can remain unharmed by falling from a height of several meters.

Each needle is suitable for a beam of muscles that raise it at the slightest danger. But to shoot a barr, the hedgehog cannot, just as a person is not able to tear the hair without the help of hands. The needles themselves fall off about once every 18 months, but not all together, but one. Therefore, the hedgehogs never remain without protection.

Hedgehogs are dragging mushrooms and apples on needles in Noura

Not true
Love hedgehog to collect and punish mushrooms and apples to spines - the most common legend, which is replicated in millions of children's books. This belief is almost 2000 years: for the first time about the funny feature of the enemy mentions in the "natural history" ancient Roman scientist and writer Polynia Senior.

The error of an ancient erudite later divided Charles Darwin, believing a message of one of his correspondents. In fact, the hedgehog feed insects, as well as small mammals. From the plants, the beasts only felt fruit eaten, but they don't even wear them anywhere. For the winter, the hedgehog flowed into the hibernation, so they do not need to make stocks - nutrients animals accumulate in the form of fat.

Jersie love milk

Partly truth
To devour animals, owners of country houses leave on the porch with milk with milk. And indeed, Jerzy often drink it, but then feel very bad. Like most mammals, these animals feed on milk, just being young. Adults ceases to produce an enzyme that is necessary for the splitting of lactose - milk sugar.

Imaginary lactose gets into a fat intestine, and her bacteria living there are gladly. This process is accompanied by the release of gases that provoke bloating and other unpleasant symptoms.

In addition, milk sugar "pulls" water, leading to diarrhea. So, putting the milk left from the best motives, the hedgehogs will suffer quite a long time, and in severe cases they can die.

They live very long

Not true
In the wild, the life expectancy of large types of heroes varies from 4 to 7 years, small - from 2 to 4. In captivity, the pets please the owners longer: large species - up to 10 years old - about 4-7 years old. The numbers are not very impressive, but for a small beast it is quite a lot. Although scientists cannot unambiguously say what features of living beings affect longevity, the correlation between the body size and the duration of life does not cause any doubts. Great creatures on average live longer than small.

Most often, hedgehogs die from hunger during the hibernation. In addition, they have natural enemies that can eat the animal, despite the needles. The main killers of heroes - raccoons and foxes, as well as large birds of prey, such as owls and Berkuts. Cats and dogs can also attack the hedgehogs, especially when uninvited guests eat left by the owners in a bowl of food.

From the heat rushed under the wheels

Not true
No suicide sustains for suicide, although many animals finish their days on the roads. Jersies are striving to rewrite the highway not just like that. The motorways and country roads separate animal aroles on fragments of too small area. Using the radio beacons, scientists found out that in the wild, the animals overnight overcome more than a kilometer, and the average area of \u200b\u200bone hedgehum may exceed 20 hectares.

In addition, the constant crossing of relatives leads to the degeneration of the population, as genetic anomalies accumulate in it. Trying to quell up with neighbors, hedgehogs are crawling on the highway, and the result of such travel is often peenbled.

In 2006, Ecologically calculated that only in the UK every 12 months under the wheels are dying at least 15,000 hectares. Dutch experts, in turn, concluded that if additional protection does not appear along the highway, or they are not equipped with underground tunnels, then the Netherlands are not at the Netherlands.

Top at night

truth
Hedgehogs - night animals and most of the day sleep, getting out of shelters only at dusk. In the wild, the animals spend the night in search of food: slugs, snails, worms, beetles, multi-ninexes, insect larvae and even mice and frogs. Despite the fact that home hedgehop owners leave them food, animals still try to find prey in the closet, for the sofa, under the sink and in other secluded places.

Hunting instincts and biological rhythms make herself wake up at night and reborn the house even when they are not hungry. Due to the peculiarities of the gait and long claws of the wandering of heroes around the house are really accompanied by a trap.

Not drown in water

Partly truth
European hedgehogs swim well, although sometimes they cannot get out of the lake with steep shores. The animals mastered the movement on the water to survive among the rivers, lakes and marshes of Eurasia. But the African Jersies do not know how to swim and, falling into a pond or a barrel with water, will inevitably die.

They have immunity to snake poison

Partly truth
Unlike mangoshos, who are completely immune to the serpentine poison, the hedgehogs are great lovers to hunt a snake - only partially resistant to it. From the affecting actions of animals protects the Erinzin protein, but if the snake succeeds to bite the hedgehog several times, the fight may not end in favor of the beast.

The main rescue of the hedgehog is needles. The aggressor provokes a snake on the attack and when she rushes, puts sharp spines. When the famous enemy exhales, herself jars on the snake and overcoats her the ridge.

Love beer.

truth
To get rid of the slugs, the dackets put beer traps - bury the container in the ground, and then they collect pests shut down to the bait. The hedgehogs also do not mind drink - like many other animals, they like the taste of the drink. And like all drinks, the animals are drunk and can even fall asleep next to the trap. If the hedgehogs drink too much, it will be poisoned with all the associated symptoms.

Sisha bloham

May predict the weather

Not true
Every year on February 2, Canadians and Americans are lured out of Nor Surkov to see if animals will see their shadow. This custom is to determine which spring will be, the inhabitants of the new world borrowed from the ancient Romans, who also tormented heroes. For several millennia, the accuracy of the forecast has not changed and, as in the famous anecdote, is 50%: either guesses or no

Daria Green
Magazine "Around the World" 2014

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Since hedgehogs, for obvious reasons, do not know how to speak, they express their emotions with sounds and gestures.

We will analyze what sounds and gestures can produce hedgehogs.

Sounds:

• Breaking or soft suffer - complete satisfaction.
• Puffs are uncertainty, discontent.
• Frequent breathing or sneezing, simultaneously with puffy - discontent.
• Cocans and hiss - discontent, the animal should be left alone.
• Approval - occurs during the study of the territory.
• Twitter - usually published by the male during the courtship for the female during the Gon.
• Creek - pain or fear.

Sometimes hedgehogs can snore in a dream, but it is completely normal. Also, like other animals, they can make different sounds while sleeping.

Gestures:

• Folding into the ball - fright, refusal to communicate.
• Needles standing on end - uncertainty, caution.
• The lying needles are the lack of tension, the animal suits everything.

In the behavior of the hedgehogs there is one feature: they throw saliva.

If the hedgehog hurts what he likes, or any new unfamiliar smell, he will start to distinguish saliva very abundantly, and then throw it on his shoulders and back. In attempts to skip the maximum amount of foam onto your body, some individuals can unscrew and turn their bodies into the most incredible postures. Many hedgehogs, this occupation is so fascinating that they completely forget about everything that happens around them.

However, the nature of this behavior of Hedgehogs is still not clear, it is known that most often it is observed in males than the females. One of the possible reasons is that the hedgehogs are trying to remember, some kind of smell, and for this mix it with saliva and throws onto the spines. The other explanation says that the saliva of the hedgehog works as a toxin or as a means of scaring for enemies. Regardless of the causes of the foaming, this process is absolutely natural and normal, and the reasons for concern should not be called.

But the reasons for such a phenomenon, like running in a circle, not yet installed. Sometimes hedgehogs begin to feverishly run in a circle, and do not worry, seeing it. Some owners of Hedgehogs believe that this is due to the fact that hedgehogs are not enough space, but this opinion is erroneous, since in nature hedgehogs also periodically run around with circles.

Hedgehogs are intended to awaken and awake at any time of the day, but the greatest activity in these animals is observed after the sunset, and is preserved almost until dawn. If because of your lifestyle, you can not communicate with the Hedgehog at night, then try to gently change its life rhythm. If you do everything right, then the hedgehog will be awake in the afternoon, and sleep - at night. However, the violation of natural rhythms can play a cruel joke with your pet.

Each hedge has an individual behavioral line. They can be classified into the following:

• Loving - Animal loves to lie in your hands or knees. He likes when he scratches the tummy or ears, the pet is completely relaxed. Such a character at the hedgehis is considered ideal, and this allows you to take them on the hands constantly, and also delivers much joy.

• Researcher - An animal is a solid romoc of energy, stops only for a period of sleep. The animal does not have the habit of biting or angry, for bringing it off from an important research process, but will not miss the opportunity to escape if the vigilance is lost. If your Hedgehog has such a character, then you need to secure the room in which it usually walks - make all possible cracks, remove the garbage and wires.

• Lone - Such anger does not like when it touches, absolutely not sociable. Prefers to run in the wheel and to act when no one sees him. Prefers to be in the house. For such hedgehogs you will always remain only a source of water and food.

• Aggressor - Such a hedgehog will always be folded into the ball, hiss, and also to show with all its appearance that it is not configured to communicate with you. Also, such a hex will not miss the opportunity and bite the owner. Therefore, at the first time, such animals should be treated with understanding, and also not to put pressure on them, and take small steps every day towards rapprochement with this being.

If your pet has a character not the most friendly, then this does not mean that with due patience and attention on your part will not change anything. Of course, the Hedgehogs often meet and mixed characters, they can be sufficiently loving enough, and the next already aggressive and evil. In this case, only constant observation of animals will be able to help, as well as love for it.

A bitter Yozh is definitely a problem and a similar problem can be developed into habit, which is not worth allowing.

It is important to distinguish when the hedgehog wants to bite you, and when to lick.

If you feel the threat of a bite, try not to pull the Hand to the Helf, change their position.

Strong smells can provoke bite - the smell of food, cosmetics, etc., so you should make sure that your hands do not have extraneous smells.

Also, do not survey the fingers into the cage with animals and moreover, it is teased.

What if Yuzh bites?

You can take it carefully for the shake, you can blow to him in a muzzle, splash with water, if the bite takes place while swimming, care through the teeth.

Young individuals usually bite more often than adults, everyone explores and try to try to teeth.