hedgehog

a kind of animal – mammal – nocturnal (moves about and feeds at night) – plump body with spines on the head, back and sides of the body, with hair on the underside and legs;

cone-shaped head with a long snout (= nose and mouth parts); short legs with claws on feet; short tail (tail is not visible); size: 5-15 inches long, and weighs (some species) 250-500 grams, (some other) 700 grams to 1½ Kg. (individuals can grow up to 2-2½ feet); feeds on (eats) mainly insects, and also snails, frogs, earthworms, other worms, small snakes, bird eggs, and grass roots, mushrooms, etc.; about 16 species common in Europe, Asia, Africa, and introduced to a few places – New Zealand, Scotland, etc.

male ~~ boar

female ~~ sow

baby ~~ hoglet, pup, kitten

group ~~ nest, array, prickle (‘herd’ (?))

voice (call) ~~ snort, grunt, squeal, snuffle, hiss, huff, (snoring (?))

home ~~ den, nest (made with leaves, reeds and grass in the wild); cage, house  (man-made)

Some common hedgehog species are: Afghan hedgehog, African pygmy hedgehog, forest hedgehog, four-toed hedgehog, North African hedgehog, west European hedgehog, Indian long-eared hedgehog

Special Features:

a lovable pet

Hedgehogs are kept as pets in many homes.  The ‘four-toed hedgehog’ is the commonest of all pet hedgehogs.

Hedgehogs have also been kept on farms for their meat and quills (spines).

Hedgehogs are used in common garden pest control as they feed on insects (an adult hedgehog eats up about 200 grams weight of insects a night)!

Hedgehogs roll into a ball when attacked by their predators (= animals that try to eat them),

rolling up into a ball

because when they roll into a ball, the spines stick out, like a pin-cushion, and make it difficult for the predators to bite them.

A hedgehog has about 100 white spines at birth, and as an adult it has about 6000-8000 spines!  However, the spines are not poisonous or barbed (‘barbed’ = sharp uneven, like on a hand-saw, edges).

Most hedgehogs hibernate (= go into a long deep sleep to escape from very cold or very hot weather, or when the food is scarce, not available in plenty).

Some times, hedgehogs produce frothy saliva (like white soap froth), and apply it on their spines to make their spines poisonous or to blend in with the surroundings! (?)

Some kinds of hedgehogs are believed to climb trees, and swim well! (?)

Figures of Speech:

1.

hedgehog (noun)  =

(a)  a nasty person who is also hard to get on well with

(b)

a boat with many oars

(c)  a well-protected military position in a battle

(d)

a metal device with three or four wedges used as an obstacle against military tanks

2.

to hedgehog (verb)  =  to disclose/reveal a secrete or some information when drunk (= when taken too much alcohol)

3.

scrumped up like a hedgehog (‘scrumped’ = huddled up, shrunk together; rolled up like a hedgehog)

4.

sharp as the bristles of a hedgehog  (‘bristles’ = spines, quills)

5.

deck a hedgehog and he will be seen a baron (‘deck’ = to dress up;  ‘baron’ = a rich man of high social position) [said to mean that fine clothes can boost/increase a person’s image]

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