How does the little hedgehog survive the winter?

Hedgehog is a lovely small animal, it is generally fat and short, with sharp claws, small eyes, a long and pointed mouth, sharp teeth, covered with short and dense spines, and short fluff on its head, tail and abdomen. Hedgehogs are widely distributed in Europe and northern Asia, as well as in northern China and the Yangtze River Basin. Heilongjiang hedgehog is the most common hedgehog in China. Because hedgehogs are heterothermic animals, they are unable to regulate their body temperature. How does the little hedgehog survive the winter?

How does the little hedgehog survive the winter?

Hedgehogs spend the winter by hibernating. In winter, when the temperature begins to drop, the hedgehog still eats more to keep the body warm in order to keep the cold. When the temperature drops to 7 ℃, the hedgehog goes into hibernation, usually at the end of autumn, until the next spring, the temperature will be warm enough to wake up.

When the hedgehog hibernates for as long as four or five months, after entering hibernation, the body temperature drops, and other physiological functions also weaken. When the hedgehog hibernates in the nest, its body temperature drops to 6 ℃. In this case, the hedgehog has the lowest body temperature in the world, breathing 1-10 times per minute.

Hedgehogs have strict choices for their caves: in the south, it is required to be warm in winter and cool in summer, with an average temperature of about 10-15 ℃ and a depth of up to 80~100cm. The northern winter is cold and the temperature is low, and the hedgehog overwinters in a hole at a depth of 1.2m. Because it has no fluff to keep warm, it is afraid of cold in winter and hot in summer.