You probably see cartoon hedgehogs on everything from coffee mugs to pajama pants to ties, but
hedgehogs are much more thenthan just cute little prickly creatures. Hedgehogs, which are naturally found
in Africa, Asia, and partparts of Europe, are small, spiny mammals distantly related to shrews. ThereTheir spines
are made for self-protection, and they can curl up into a ball to protect their belly and throat. Don’tThey don’t
have many predators because of this, but one creature they tend to worry about is the badger.
Assuming they are not eaten by a badger or they don’t meet their demise through disease or
misfortune, hedgehogs generally live four tooto seven years out in the wild. In captivity, they can live up
to ten years. A hedgehogshedgehog's gestation period is anywhere between 35-58 days, and they generally have
three or four babies, which are called kits, pups, piglets, or just babies. A group of Hedgehogshedgehogs is called an
array. Their diet consists of fruit, such as berries and melonmelons, grass roots, and also small animals, such as
insects, snails, and frogs. Some fun facts about hedgehogs are: they make lots of noises like grunts and
squeals, they are nocturnal, it’s illegal to own a pet hedgehog in Italy, and they have ‘some natural
immunity against some snake venom’ (Omori-Satoha), which is rare among mammals.