Hedgehogs are one species of rodents that are known to have thick and sharp feathers. Habitat of the Hedgehog is mostly found in the hemisphere of a tropical climate. They become animals that are difficult to eat by predators because their spines prevent them from eating this type of prey. So this animal is very easy to breed without fear of being eaten. Other species such as hedgehogs include Erinaceinae and Echidna but do not include rodents. Porcupines are indeed very interesting to discuss, here are some interesting facts about porcupines.
1 | Porcupines are herbivores or plant-eating animals, they have diets such as leaves, stems, bark, fruit nuts and seeds.
2 | Porcupines can be processed into food, such as the Karanganyar regency which is famous for its culinary satay.
3 | Porcupines walk slowly.
4 | Scientists divide Porcupines into 2 groups, Old World Hedgehogs located in Africa, Europe, and Asia and New World Hedgehogs found in North, Central, and South America.
5 | Hedgehogs, including nocturnal animals that look for food at night. The New World Porcupine spends its time in trees while the Old World Porcupine stays on the ground.
6 | Hedgehogs like to occupy areas around the hills, such as deserts, fields, mountains, and forests, especially in tree branches, roots, bushes and rock crevices.
7 | The largest hedgehog is the North African Crested Hedgehog that can grow to a length of 90 cm.
8 | The smallest hedgehog in the world is the Bahia Hedgehog, which can only grow to a maximum length of 38 cm.
9 | Some species of hedgehog have a tail that can grow up to 10-51 cm.
10 | Porcupine spines can reach a length of 30 cm as in the African Crested Hedgehog based on National Geographic.
11 | The number of porcupine spines can reach more than 30000.
12 | Hedgehogs use their thorns to protect themselves, they first vibrate their feathers so they crunch to frighten predators. If that doesn't work, they will turn around while spreading their thorns.
13 | Porcupine spines are loose so they can escape from the body and stick to predators.
14 | Some spines sometimes have hooks that make it difficult to pull out.
15 | A loose hedgehog can grow back like common hair.
16 | Each thorn has a topical antibiotic, so a hedgehog attack will not cause infection. But this is also a mechanism if there are injuries due to the spines themselves.
17 | Male hedgehogs fight over females by fierce fighting after that the winner urinates the female. As a sign that the female is his.
18 | Hedgehogs are the number 3 rodent in the world.
19 | Java Indonesian hedgehogs hunted by many people to get "mustika". They believe that porcupines have "mustika" stones that can treat various diseases. The price of hedgehog stone can reach 500 thousand - 1 million rupiah per gram or around 50-100USD.
20 | In addition to sharp hair, Porcupine also has fine hair that functions as a protector of hot or cold weather, helps regulate the body's homeostatic processes, and also as a sensory receptor.
Read also 15 Fascinating Fact About Bat, The Flying Mamals