The hedgehog is a short and stout little mammal that is sometimes called a pincushion with legs! Most mammals have fur or hair that is somewhat flexible and soft. But the hair on the back of a hedgehog is a thick layer of spikes (or modified hairs) known as quills. These quills are made of keratin, the same stuff our hair and fingernails are made of. Find out more!

The hedgehog can live in many different habitats, from desert to forest and beyond! The desert-dwelling species live in areas that receive little rainfall. Other species live throughout Asia.

European hedgehogs are widespread in Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia. In Africa, hedgehogs live in savannas, forests, and even city streets, where they waddle along, foraging for insects.

Hedgehogs are insectivores. But they can also eat other ground-dwelling creatures such as slugs and snails. The European hedgehog dines on earthworms, beetles, millipedes, caterpillars, slugs, snails, earwigs, and birds’ eggs and chicks.

Some hedgies, like those in Africa’s deserts, even eat dead animals, small rodents and snakes, and scorpions. The menu of a South African hedgehog includes all the above as well as fungi, frogs, lizards, termites, grasshoppers, and moths.

An adult female usually gives birth to four to seven young once or twice a year. Newborns look like chubby white caterpillars. They do have quills at birth, but these are soft and flexible.