HEDGEHOGS
Mammal      -     Vertebrate      -      Carnivore

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Male   ................................................   Boar
Female   ............................................   Sow
Young  .....................................   Hoglet. Piglet. Pup

Hedgehogs ...

Are Britain's only spiny mammal and has about 6,000 spines

• Underneath they have coarse brown fur
  
• Eat slugs and earthworms and sometimes eggs
  
• Are nocturnal
  
• Hibernate during the winter
  
• Heart beats 300 times per minute, on average
• Roll up into a tight ball to protect themselves from predators
  
• Have poor eyesight, but a good sense of smell and hearing
  
• Threats are:
  

         -  Bonfires, as they often hibernate in the piles of leaves
         -  Cars
         -  Lawnmowers
         -  Poison - slug pellets, etc

• The spines of a newborn hedgehog begin to appear within 24 hours
  
• The desert hedgehog eats scorpions by carefully nipping off the scorpion's deadly sting before eating it.  

Can live for about 5 years

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COLLECTIVE NOUNS

1. An array of hedgehogs
   
2. A nest of hedgehogs
3. A prickle of hedgehogs

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SIMILE

1. As prickly as a hedgehog
   

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BABY HEDGEHOGS

PYGMY HEDGEHOG

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