Order: Erinaceomorpha

Family: Erinaceidae

 

Size: up to 16-39 cm in length. (Head to tail).

Weight: 400-500 g.

 

Key Features: It is a small and rather pale hedgehog, with short spines covering the upperparts of the body. Like other hedgehogs, these stiff spines, which are brown at the base and white at the tips, act as effective armour when the hedgehog rolls into a protective ball. The legs, feet and under-parts are also whitish, the latter of which may be tinged with yellow. The long-eared hedgehog has a pale brown face, with a long, pointed snout and large, rounded ears, which appear somewhat whitish and translucent. The tail is short, but the legs are relatively long, which is particularly apparent when the hedgehog is trotting.

 

Voice: produces a variety of vocalisations, including a snuffle, a cat-like hiss, and a growl when threatened.

 

Breeding: generally only breeds once a year, usually between the months of July and September, during which time the female gives birth to a litter of one to four offspring after a gestation period of 35 to 42 days. 

 

Diet: feeds on insects, small vertebrates, eggs, fruit, seeds and carrion.

 

Habitat:  commonly found inhabiting sub-desert areas or semi-arid grass-covered plains, also known as steppe.

 

Habits: A nocturnal animal, the long-eared hedgehog may wander up to nine kilometres at night in search of food. It is also able to survive without food or water for up to ten weeks.

 

Conservation Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

 

Distribution in the GoK: reported along the coast of Gulf of Kachchh.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Hoath, R. (2009) A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, Cairo.

 

Firouz, E. (2005) The Complete Fauna of Iran. L.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, London.

 

Nowak, R.M. (1999) Walker's Mammals of the World. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.

 

Roberts, T.J. (1977) The Mammals of Pakistan. Ernest Benn Limited, London.

 

IUCN Red List. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/40607/0

 

Photo Courtesy

Kookherd, Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons