Yes, hedgehogs hibernate. By autumn, little animals are accumulating fat for hibernation. Types of hedgehogs living in the southern regions remain active throughout the year.
The hibernation period passes in the burrow. The body temperature goes down, and the pulse is reduced to 20-60 beats per minute. Awakening begins in the spring when the air warms to April. If the subcutaneous fat is not enough, the animal may die from hunger.
Their hedgehogs are known and protected from encroachments by their relatives. Females occupy up to 10 ha of area, and males – 2-3 times more. Their stay is denoted by a noisy snort, sounds similar to sneezing. The young hedgehogs whistle and quack like birds.
At the heart of the hedgehogs nutrition is animal food, consisting of beetles, earthworms, frogs, mice, shrews, lizards. The prickly resident of various insects and their larvae, snails, slugs, can destroy a nest of a bird with eggs or hatching chicks.
