eight different species of hedgehogs are there.
how many different species of hedgehogs are there?
eight
seventeen species of hedgehog exist worldwide. hedgehog were commonly found in europe, the middle east, africa, and central asia. they were introduced to new zealand by england and quickly became an invasive species. hedgehogs are omnivorous and posed a real threat to insect, snail, lizard, and bird populations due to a lack of natural predators in new zealand. hedgehogs may tighten their orbicularis muscle to hide its head, legs, and belly in a coat of prickly erect spines. hedgehogs are primarily nocturnal, some of them may be crepuscular. hedgehogs typically take refuge in the empty burrow of another small animal, or a burrow they dug themselves. however, hedgehogs can occasionally take refuge under rocks or in thick vegetation, essentially any where dark and secluded. hedgehogs tend to by solitary; however, not to the extent of hamsters. some captive bred females crave the companionship of another hedgehog and occasionally show bonding tendencies when housed with another female; male hedgehogs should not be housed together as they will fight once they reach sexual maturity.
pocket pet
colonists took hedgehogs from england and scotland to new zealand on sailing ships from the 1860s to the 1890s mainly for sentimental reasons. few survived the 4-6 month voyage, but those that did had lost all their fleas. animals found their first homes in the south island, where their spread was helped by guards dropping them off at country railway stations. hedgehogs were introduced to the north island about 1906 and, from then on, their numbers increased at an exponential rate. by the 1920s they had become so numerous that game-bird hunters blamed them for reduced bag-sizes. hedgehogs were declared noxious animals and a bounty of one shilling a snout paid by regional authorities for several years. by the 1950s, hedgehogs could be found over the whole country with the exception of the coldest wettest corner of the south island and alpine areas of permanent snow. nevertheless, hedgehogs have been seen climbing new zealand glaciers. hedgehogs do not reach the same weight in new zealand as in colder parts of europe. with its milder winters, new zealand hedgehogs hibernate for only three months of the year so do not need to put on so much weight in autumn as their ancestors. in northern new zealand, many hedgehogs do not hibernate at all. one of new zealand's pioneer hedgehogs probably had faulty teeth for this feature is found in about 50% of today's animals. most new zealanders welcome hedgehogs in their gardens as they relish slugs and snails. conservationists are less happy as hedgehogs compete for invertebrate food with native bush birds and prey on some rare insects, lizards and ground-nesting birds. as a result, extensive hedgehog-control programs are under way in some parts of the country, killing thousands of them. to judge by roadkill counts, north island hedgehogs were at their highest numbers in the 1950s. since then, roadkill counts have fallen dramatically from about 50/100 km to less than 1/100 km. refs brockie, r.e. in carolyn king (ed) the handbook of new zealand mammals. 1998. oxford.
european hedgehog