How is the hedgehog prepared for winter? What does a hedgehog do in the winter?

Have you ever thought about what we know about forest inhabitants? We all from childhood with pleasure watched cartoons, where the sweet bunny often got into trouble, and the angry wolf was his worst enemy. Quite often in children's cartoons you can meet a character who loved everyone, a hedgehog who carefully drags an appetizing apple on his thorns, but often our knowledge about the way of life of this prickly beast ends. So let us together plunge into the world of forest animals, so that to the question of our child: "How is the hedgehog preparing for winter?" - with dignity tell him about what this small bundle of needles represents.

Appearance

It is a small mammal animal that has a total body length of about 20-30 cm. We never see a tail in pictures with images of a hedgehog or just drawings, but it has it, just very small - only 3 cm.

Hedgehog has a weight of only 700-800 grams, and relatively small ears, which most often do not reach and 3.5 cm. The upper jaw of the animal has about 20 sharp, but small teeth, but on the bottom of them a little less - only 16. Muzzle slightly Elongated, we can say, wedge-shaped. The feet are provided with five fingers, on which there are sharp claws. Young hedgehogs have about 3 thousand needles, and adults up to 5-6 thousand, the surface of these needles is smooth, and the coloration is characterized by alternation of light and brownish belts. Inside the needle are hollow and filled with air, on the head, sides and back reach 2 cm in length and grow fast enough, as well as hair located among the needles. They are rare and thin, but rather long, and on the belly of the animal have a dark color.

Habitat

Hedgehog can be found in a variety of places, often his favorite habitats - the edge of the forest, thickets of shrubs, glades ... Also hedgehogs often "lodge" next to the dwelling of people. This common animal can live in Central and Western Europe, in the south of Scandinavia, Western Siberia, as well as in Spain and Kazakhstan. In general, hedgehogs avoid continuous coniferous massifs and extensive bogs, the rest of the places in which trees grow, even if it is a man-made park, are quite beloved for them place. Jerzy perfectly coexist with a person, and even are his assistant in the fight against various kinds of rodents, snails and other not very pleasant "neighbors."

Reproduction

Before talking about what a hedgehog does in the winter, it is necessary to have an idea of the way in which he leads, and how he is mating and multiplying. The process of finding a partner for the breeding of offspring comes after hibernation, when in the forest hedgehogs can find enough food. Males fight among themselves for the female and are actively chasing after her. With the onset of pregnancy, hedgehogs prepare a safe haven for themselves and future offspring. This place they cover with moss, leaves, dry grass and carefully conceal it. In the litter, the female usually has 3-5 hedgehogs, which appear with closed eyes and ears, and instead of needles they have only soft rudiments. Within 2 weeks the young offspring are forming needles, and by the end of the second month of life they leave their lair forever, leaving their mother, such a hedgehog. Where each of them lives in the winter, it is not yet clear, because the hedgehogs are loners and fiercely fight and guard their territory, therefore they are dispersed in different directions.

Neighborhood of people and a hedgehog

This prickly animal has long been a good-natured and harmless neighbor for a man. Those who live in their homes, perfectly aware that the hedgehog with pleasure destroys harmful insects, caterpillars and even rodents. Sometimes people driven to despair do not know how to deal with these pests, and when they learn about the habits of hedgehogs from acquaintances or from other sources, they decide to start this animal. In a very short time, not a single pest will remain in the area where the hedgehog settles. Therefore, if we talk about what a hedgehog does in the winter, we can safely assume that he is resting. However, the animal has and, so to speak, harmful "habits": it destroys the eggs and offspring of birds that nest on the ground. In addition, he is the carrier of diseases such as yellow fever, rabies, dermatomycosis, salmonella, etc. The hedgehog can bring ticks, fleas and other rather unpleasant and even dangerous insects in his thorns. With his needles, he gathers mites from the grass with a brush, but can not get rid of them independently.

Hedgehog behavior

How is the hedgehog prepared for winter? This question is of interest to many animal lovers, and even more so those who have a hedgehog in their house. The fact is that the behavior of any animal in captivity and its natural habitat is often different, so consider these two options separately.

In general, depending on climatic conditions of a hedgehog's life, it can be assumed that the active period of his life takes from four to seven months. This period of time, in turn, can be conditionally divided into awakening, reproductive period and preparation for hibernation.

Hibernation at will

If the hedgehog lives in his habitual habitat, during the warm season he actively stores fat stock, because we know that the hedgehog falls into winter in hibernation, and in order to survive the cold season, you need to have enough strength. With the onset of cold weather food disappears, which is usually eaten by hedgehogs, there are rare beetles and rodents, caterpillars disappear, the night life seems to freeze. The prickly animal also tries to rebuild its life order in a new way.

How is the hedgehog prepared for winter and what is hibernation? This is primarily a specific species adaptation of animals, while representatives of the species perceive unfavorable living conditions in different ways, therefore, they can also fall into hibernation for various reasons. For hedgehogs, the main reason for going into hibernation is, first of all, the lack of basic fodder, and already on the second place is the ambient temperature. If you compare a hedgehog with other animals, then, for example, gerbils and chipmunks can make a reserve of their plant food, but it is simply impossible to make a reserve of insects, so in the warm season the hedgehog actively accumulates fat. However, the winter numbness of hedgehogs can also be related to its imperfect thermoregulation.

Hibernating in captivity

Despite the fact that for the hedgehog in captivity all the conditions for life are created, and he does not need a supply of food, since he has it freely available, these animals, nevertheless, can still fall into a hibernation, although the temperature is not Decreases. By the way, biologists studied the question of how the hedgehog prepares for winter, and came to the curious conclusion that the activity of the animal is affected by light, which is the synchronizer of seasonal activity.

Some owners of hedgehogs at home worry about how to determine that their pet has fallen into a hibernation. Experts recommend to bring to the nose of the animal a mirror and observe the presence of signs of breathing. Indeed, looking at the hedgehog in hibernation, it is difficult to understand whether he is alive or not, because he has a kind of numbness. The hedgehog half folds into a ball, its body temperature during hibernation is only 1.8 degrees, it is difficult at such signs to recognize the animal as alive. But nevertheless, those who started the hedgehog at home should know how the hedgehog prepares for winter, what are the signs of its hibernation and how to properly derive it from such a state.

The myth of the

It is curious and a bit sad to even know that our idea of a hedgehog, bearing an apple or a mushroom on its needles, is fundamentally wrong. These little animals never puncture food on needles, the maximum they can in this way transfer the leaves for their mink.

Now you have learned a lot of interesting things about hedgehogs, but even if you meet this animal in the forest or near the house and bring it home, remember that you have a great responsibility for the life of this small and defenseless animal. But do not forget that the hedgehog sleeps in the winter, so if you see that the animal weighs very little, it means that it does not have enough fat reserves before entering the state of suspended animation, and it is very likely that your prickly neighbor can Not survive the cold in the wild.