---
title: "What the sources say about the European Hedgehog | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "46 claims from the European Hedgehog profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/european-hedgehog-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/european-hedgehog/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the European Hedgehog (*Erinaceus europaeus*)

> 46 claims from the European Hedgehog profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [European Hedgehog](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/european-hedgehog/)

## Hedgehog. People's Trust for Endangered Species, Facts and Figures.

https://ptes.org/get-informed/facts-figures/hedgehog/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Around six thousand keratin spines | They are 22-28 cm long and have around 6,000 closely-packed, hollow, creamy white spines (note: ADW gives 'around 5,000' for an adult; ADW was last updated 2011-06-19, PTES is the current page, so PTES's figure stands) |
| 1 to 2 km of travel a night | Travel 1-2km a night |
| Ground-dwelling invertebrates, especially worms, beetles, slugs, caterpillars and earwigs, plus birds' eggs and carrion | Ground-dwelling invertebrates especially worms, beetles, slugs, caterpillars, millipedes and earwigs. They also eat birds eggs and carrion. |
| Occasionally, some hedgehogs produce large amounts of frothy saliva and spread it over their spines | Occasionally, some hedgehogs produce large amounts of frothy saliva and spread it over their spines. |
| The behavior is called "self-anointment", and its purpose is still a mystery | The purpose of this 'self-anointment' is still a mystery. |
| Frothy and Unexplained Occasionally, some hedgehogs produce large amounts of frothy saliva and spread it over their spines | Occasionally, some hedgehogs produce large amounts of frothy saliva and spread it over their spines. |
| The behavior has a name, self-anointment, but its purpose is still a mystery | The purpose of this 'self-anointment' is still a mystery. |
| Around 6,000, closely packed and hollow. Each is creamy white, becoming brown at the base and pure white at the tip, with a dark chocolate-brown band just behind the point | around 6,000 closely-packed, hollow, creamy white spines, becoming brown at the base and pure white at the tip. Just behind the point is a dark, chocolate-brown band. |
| roughly 6,000 hollow keratin spines | around 6,000 closely-packed, hollow, creamy white spines |
| The ball can protect a hedgehog from most natural enemies | By rolling up into a tight ball and erecting their spines, hedgehogs can protect themselves from most natural enemies. |
| Hedgehogs are 22 to 28 cm long | They are 22-28 cm long |
| adults weigh between 450 and 1,500 g | Adult hedgehogs weigh between 450 and 1500 g. |
| It is mostly active at night or after heavy rain | They are mostly active at night or after heavy rainfall |
| travels 1 to 2 kilometres a night | Travel 1-2km a night |
| Although hedgehogs are usually thought of as slow, they can move at up to 40 metres a minute | They are usually thought of as slow animals but they can move up to 40 metres a minute. |
| When foraging they tend to follow linear features, meaning long, narrow strips of landscape | Tend to follow linear features when foraging. (note: 'meaning long, narrow strips of landscape' defines the source's term for readers; it names no feature the source doesn't) |
| A hedgehog uses its keen sense of smell to find food | use their keen sense of smell to find food and alert them to danger |
| ground-dwelling invertebrates (animals without backbones), especially worms, beetles, slugs, caterpillars, millipedes and earwigs, plus birds' eggs and carrion (dead animals) | Ground-dwelling invertebrates especially worms, beetles, slugs, caterpillars, millipedes and earwigs. They also eat birds eggs and carrion. (note: the two parentheses define 'invertebrates' and 'carrion') |
| In Britain, hedgehogs hibernate between November and the end of March, when food is scarce, staying largely inactive to save energy | Between November and the end of March, when food is scarce, hedgehogs hibernate to conserve energy, remaining largely inactive. (note: PTES writes for Britain ('our only spiny mammal', 'GB population'); ADW gives other timings elsewhere (October to April in colder areas), so the months are scoped to Britain) |
| Hedgehogs are found throughout western Europe, including mainland Britain and Ireland | Hedgehogs are found throughout western Europe, including mainland Britain and Ireland |
| are absent from large conifer plantations, marshes and moorland | Absent from large conifer plantations, marshes & moorlands. |
| In Britain there is considerable evidence of a dramatic decline, with around a third of the population lost since the millennium | there is now considerable evidence for a dramatic decline in recent years, with around a third of the national population lost since the millennium (note: 'national' is Britain: the page's population section is headed 'GB population size & distribution') |
| Hedgehogs live about two years on average, and a small percentage reach five | Average of about two years. A small percentage will reach five years. |
| each of its roughly 6,000 spines | around 6,000 closely-packed, hollow, creamy white spines (note: vibe.reason (task #268); the same PTES count the body and FAQ 2 use) |

## Erinaceus europaeus (western European hedgehog). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Erinaceus_europaeus/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| keratin spines | Spines are made of keratin and are attached to the skin in a similar way to hair. (note: backs the 'keratin' material word in the tagline and the body's '6,000 hollow keratin spines'; the count and hollowness are the ptes-european-hedgehog claims) |
| a back muscle that lets them all stand on end at once | When a hedgehog rolls into a ball, all of the spines can be erected simultaneously, which is made possible by the panniculus carnosis, a sheet of muscle that covers its back. |
| Field edges, hedgerows, parks, cemeteries and gardens across western Europe, in areas that are not thickly wooded | The European hedgehog is found in temperate fields, especially field edges and hedgerows. They prefer drier areas that are not thickly wooded ... European hedgehogs are commensal and are often found in home gardens, cemeteries, parks, agroecosystems (note: 'across western Europe' is the ptes-european-hedgehog range claim below; a habitat list names where the animal is found, so ADW's 'often' is not dropped) |
| the panniculus carnosus, contracts to curl the body into a ball while the muscles linked to each spine contract too, leaving every spine standing on end | In order to form into a ball, they constriction the panniculus carnosus muscle. When this occurs, the muscles associated with each spine contract, leaving all of the hedgehog's spines erect. (note: 'A sheet of muscle across the back' is the 'sheet of muscle that covers its back' claim below) |
| badgers and foxes may be able to wedge their noses into the crease where the top and bottom of the spiny coat meet | Some predators, such as badgers and foxes, may be able to gain access to the hedgehog by wedging their noses into the crease where the top and bottom of the spiny coat meet. |
| predators have been known to drop a balled-up hedgehog from a height to stun or injure it long enough to reach its exposed underbelly | Predators have also been known to drop a balled hedgehog from a height so as to shock or injure the hedgehog long enough for them to take advantage of its exposed underbelly. (note: same words in faq 3 and the body; 'stun' paraphrases ADW's 'shock') |
| A sheet of muscle called the panniculus carnosus covers a hedgehog's back | the panniculus carnosis, a sheet of muscle that covers its back |
| To protect itself, the hedgehog contracts that muscle to curl into a ball, while the muscles linked to each spine contract too, leaving every spine standing on end | To protect themselves, hedgehogs have the ability to curl into a defensive ball that exposes only erected spines. In order to form into a ball, they constriction the panniculus carnosus muscle. When this occurs, the muscles associated with each spine contract, leaving all of the hedgehog's spines erect. |
| Threaten a European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) and it curls into a ball, protecting its face and vulnerable underbelly | When threatened, hedgehogs curl into a ball, exposing their sharp spines while protecting their vulnerable underbelly and face. |
| A sheet of muscle called the panniculus carnosus covers its back | the panniculus carnosis, a sheet of muscle that covers its back |
| contracting it pulls the hedgehog into that ball | In order to form into a ball, they constriction the panniculus carnosus muscle. |
| At the same time, the muscles linked to each of its | When this occurs, the muscles associated with each spine contract (note: the sentence's spine count and 'hollow' are the ptes-european-hedgehog claim below, 'keratin' the adw keratin claim) |
| contract too, leaving every spine standing on end | When this occurs, the muscles associated with each spine contract, leaving all of the hedgehog's spines erect. |
| Badgers and foxes may be able to wedge their noses into the crease where the top and bottom of the spiny coat meet | Some predators, such as badgers and foxes, may be able to gain access to the hedgehog by wedging their noses into the crease where the top and bottom of the spiny coat meet. |
| By day a hedgehog usually rests in a shallow nest of twigs, leaves and grass | They tend to rest during the day in shallow nests made of twigs, leaves, grass, pine needles, and other foliage. |
| Stored fat keeps them insulated and gives them the energy to wake up | Hedgehogs survive the cold temperatures by storing fat to be used as insulation and as an energy reserve to wake up when necessary. |
| hibernating hedgehogs take periodic breaks to forage | These periodic breaks in hibernation occur every 1 to 2 weeks and last for 1 to 2 days, during which hedgehogs forage for food (note: final pass cut ADW's 1 to 2 week and 1 to 2 day figures: a duration from a page last updated 2011, with no current source (fact-check.md, Check the date)) |
| north as far as Scandinavia | It is commonly seen in northern Europe, as far as Scandinavia. |
| They live especially along field edges and hedgerows, often in gardens and parks | The European hedgehog is found in temperate fields, especially field edges and hedgerows. They prefer drier areas that are not thickly wooded and are occasionally found in scrub and sand dunes. European hedgehogs are commensal and are often found in home gardens, cemeteries, parks |
| contract together, standing every one on end | When a hedgehog rolls into a ball, all of the spines can be erected simultaneously (note: vibe.reason (task #268); the 6,000 figure in the same sentence is the PTES claim 'each of its roughly 6,000 spines') |

## Gazzard & Rasmussen (2024). Erinaceus europaeus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T29650A213411773.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2024-2.rlts.t29650a213411773.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Near Threatened | IUCN Red List category: Near Threatened (NT). |
| Worldwide, the species is now listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List | IUCN Red List category: Near Threatened (NT). (note: 2024 assessment (e.T29650A213411773), so 'now' is dated after the listing; ADW's 2011 Least Concern is superseded) |