European Hedgehog
| Latin Name | Erinaceus europaeus |
|---|---|
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Eulipotyphla |
| Family | Erinaceidae |
| IUCN status | Least concern |
| Habitat | Thrives in man-made habitats such as gardens, orchards, vineyards and woodlands |
| Distribution | Endemic to Europe including Russia |
General Information
The hedgehog is abundant throughout its range and a popular visitor to gardens in the UK. It is mainly nocturnal when it forages for worms, slugs, earwigs,fallen fruits, eggs and surprisingly it will eat young grass snakes and adders as
they are somewhat immune to snake venom. It usually hibernates in winter which is followed by the breeding season. In the wild they may only live a few years but could reach up to 10 years.
Fun Fact
Hedgehog babies called hoglets are born naked and blind. But within 48 hours, a layer of fine white prickles emerge through the skin to protect them.
Keeper Notes
Our resident hedgehogs are all rescues who cannot return to the wild for a variety of health problems, frequently eyesight trauma.
At present we have Sonic, a male, who arrived 2014 and a female, Hermione who was born here in 2017.
Each year between us and our sister park, Battersea Park Children's Zoo, we captive breed our hedgehogs so that the hoglets can then go for wild release to boost wild population numbers as they continue to rapildly decline!