Hedgehogs are fascinating creatures, and while we will sometimes see them roaming around our gardens and streets, there's much about them that we wouldn't necessarily know from just observing them. 

Following on from last week’s blog on the University’s Hedgehog Friendly Campus involvement, we've put together some interesting facts about hedgehogs that you might not have known: 

1. A group of hedgehogs is called an ‘array’.
    
2. A hedgehog has between 5000 and 7000 quills (spikes)! Each one lasts about a year before dropping out to leave room for its replacement. 
    
3. There are 17 different species of hedgehog.
    
4. Hedgehogs have very poor eyesight, so rely predominantly on their smell and hearing to navigate. This is part of the reason that they are nocturnal creatures. 
    
5. Hedgehog spikes are not barbed or poisonous. The inside of their quills are mostly hollow, each containing air chambers making them light but strong. 
    
6. Hedgehogs got their name from their love of garden hedges and the grunting noises they make!
    
7. Hedgehogs are one of only three mammals in the UK that hibernate; the other two being bats and dormice.
    
8. Hedgehogs are largely immune to snake venom, meaning that they’d stand as a very strong opponent against them in a fight. They could even eat it afterwards, too!
    
9. When exposed to putrid smells or tastes, they will ‘self-anoint’ meaning that they will rub frothy saliva on their quills, and nobody really knows why!
    
10. The Latin word for hedgehogs is Erinaceus and the British hedgehog is known as Erinaceus europaeus; which is the same for most of the hedgehogs found across Europe. 
     
11. Hedgehogs actually have small tails, we just don't often notice them under all of their spikes!
     
12. Their litters are born in numbers ranging from one to eleven. The babies will remain with their mothers for four to seven weeks before going off on their own. Mothers must guard their babies from predators during this period, some of which can actually be other male hedgehogs, who are known to prey upon the young of their species. 
     
13. Hedgehog mothers have been known to eat their young if the nest is disturbed, although sometimes they will just move them to a new nest.
     
14. Hedgehogs breed between April and September, with litters born in September seldom surviving their first winter.
     
15. Hedgehogs travel between 1-2km each night!    
     
16. There are now fewer than one million hedgehogs left in the UK, which is one of the reasons WGU is passionate about doing our bit in implementing a hedgehog-friendly campus. 

We can't wait to learn even more about hedgehogs over the coming weeks, and don't forget you can get involved, too, by supporting us in our mission to achieve a hedgehog-friendly campus!

#HedgehogFriendlyCampus 

Written by Lauren, Digital Marketing Assistant

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