有关于刺猬的英语介绍吗

AhedgehogisanyofthesmallspinymammalsofthesubfamilyErinaceinaeandtheorderInsectivora.Thereare15speciesofhedgehoginfourgenera,foundthroughpartsofEurope,Asia,Africa,andNewZealand.TherearenohedgehogsnativetotheAmericasorAustralia.Hedgehogshavechangedlittleoverthelast15millionyears.Likemanyofthefirstmammalstheyhaveadaptedtoanocturnal,insectivorouswayoflife.

Physicaldescription

Hedgehogsareeasilydistinguishedbytheirspines,whicharehollowhairsmadestiffwithkeratin.Theirspinesarenotpoisonousorbarbedand,unlikethequillsofaporcupine,cannoteasilyberemovedfromtheanimal.However,spinesnormallycomeoutwhenahedgehogshedsbabyspinesandreplacesthemwithadultspinesaroundthefirstyear.Whenunderextremestressorduringsickness,ahedgehogwilllosespines.

Hedgehogsaremostcloselyrelatedtogymnuresandotherinsectivores,includingmoles,shrews,tenrecs,theextinctdeinogalerixandsolenodons.

Behaviour

WikipediaJ.Hedgehog,ahedgehognamedafterWikipediaAdefensethatallspeciesofhedgehogspossessistheabilitytorollintoatightball,causingallofthespinestopointoutwards.However,itseffectivenessdependsonthenumberofspines,andsincesomeofthedeserthedgehogsevolvedtocarrylessweight,theyaremuchmorelikelytotrytorunawayandsometimesevenattacktheintruder,tryingtoramintotheintruderwithitsspines,leavingrollingasalastresort.Thisresultsinadifferentnumberofpredatorsfordifferentspecies:whileforesthedgehogshaverelativelyfew,primarilybirds(especiallyowls)andferrets,smallerspecieslikelong-earedhedgehogsarepreyedonbyfoxes,wolvesandmongooses.

Allhedgehogsareprimarilynocturnal,althoughdifferentspeciescanbemoreorlesslikelytocomeoutinthedaytime.Thehedgehogsleepsforalargeportionofthedaytimeeitherundercoverofbushorgrassorrockorinaholeintheground.Again,differentspeciescanhaveslightlydifferenthabits,butingeneralhedgehogsdigoutdensforshelter.Allwildhedgehogscanhibernate,althoughnotalldo;hibernationdependsontemperature,abundanceoffoodandspecies.Hedgehogsarefairlyvocal,andcommunicatenotonlyinaseriesofgruntsandsnuffles,butsometimesinloudsqueals(dependingonspecies).

Hedgehogsoccasionallyperformaritualcalled'anointing'.Whentheanimalcomesacrossanewscent,itwilllickandbitethesourceandthenformascentedfrothinitsmouthandpasteitonitsspineswithitstongue.Itisnotknownwhatthespecificpurposeofthisritualis,butsomeexpertsbelieveanointingcamouflagesthehedgehogwiththenewscentoftheareaandprovidesapossiblepoisonorsourceofinfectiontoanypredatorthatgetspokedbytheirspines.

Diet

Althoughbelongingtoinsectivorefamily,hedgehogsarealmostomnivorous.Hedgehogsfeedoninsects,snails,frogsandtoads,snakes,birdeggs,carrion,mushrooms,grassroots,berries,melons,andwatermelons.Infact,berriesconstituteamajorpartofanAfghanHedgehog'sdietinearlyspringafterhibernation.Thehedgehogisoccasionallyspottedafterarainstormforagingforearthworms.Althoughforesthedgehogs,mostwell-knowntoEuropeans,areindeedmainlyinsectivores,thisisnotnecessarilytrueforotherspecies.

Inareasthathavehedgehogsinthewild,theyareoftenwelcomedasanaturalformofgardenpestcontrol.Manypeopleleavefoodouttoattracthedgehogs.Althoughhedgehogsarelactose-intolerant,theywilleagerlyconsumecheese,milk,anddairyproducts,causingillness.Dogandcatfoodarebetterthandairy,butbothareoftentoohighinfatandtoolowinprotein.Itisbesttoleaveoutonlyasmalltreat,leavingthemplentyofappetiteforthepestsinyourgarden.

Reproduction

Dependingonthespecies,thegestationperiodis40-58days.Theaveragelitteris3-4newbornsforlargerspeciesand5-6forsmallerones.Largerspeciesofhedgehogslive4-7yearsinthewild(somehavebeenrecordedupto16years).Smallerspecieslive2-4years(4-7incaptivity).

Domesticatedhedgehogs

HedgehogbeingheldThemostcommonpetspeciesofhedgehogarehybridsofthewhite-belliedhedgehogorfour-toedhedgehog(Atelerixalbiventris)andtheAlgerianhedgehog(A.algirus).ItissmallerthantheEuropeanhedgehog,andthusissometimescalledAfricanpygmyhedgehog.OtherspecieskeptaspetsaretheEgyptianlong-earedhedgehog(Hemiechinusauritusauritus)andtheIndianlong-earedhedgehog(H.collaris).

Allthreespeciespreferawarmclimate(above72°F/22°C)anddonothibernate.Attemptstohibernatearecommonlyfatal.Theyeataninsectivorediet.Commonly,thisisreplacedwithcatfoodandferretfoodandissupplementedbyinsectsandothersmallanimals.

ItisillegaltoownahedgehogasapetinsomeU.S.statesandsomeCanadianmunicipalities,andbreedinglicensesarerequired.NosuchrestrictionsexistinmostEuropeancountries.

Thepurchaseofdomesticatedhedgehogshasseenaconsiderableincreaseinthelastfewyearsduetotheirapparentlyinnocentandplayfullooks.Hedgehogsaredifficulttomaintainaspetsduetotheirlowresistancetoclimateandtemperaturechanges,andtheirinabilitytoadapttoenclosedenvironments.

Pestcontrol

HedgehogHedgehogsareapowerfulformofpestcontrol.Asinglehedgehogcankeepanaveragegardenfreeofpestsbyeatingupto200gramsofinsectseachnight.Therefore,itiscommonthroughoutEnglandtoseepeopleattemptingtolurehedgehogsintotheiryardswithtreatsandhedgehog-sizedholesintheirfences.

Oneproblemwithusinghedgehogsforgardenpestcontrolistheuseofchemicalinsecticide.Whilethehedgehogisimmunetomostpoisons,itisnotimmunetothemwheningestinginsectsfullofthepoison.Thiscausesmanyhedgehogdeathswherepethedgehogseatcontaminatedbugswithinthehouse.

Inareaswherehedgehogshavebeenintroduced,suchasNewZealandandtheislandsofScotland,thehedgehogitselfhasbecomeapest.InNewZealanditcausesimmensedamagetonativespeciesincludinginsects,snailsandground-nestingbirds,particularlyshorebirds.Aswithmanyintroducedanimals,itlacksnaturalpredators.Withoverpopulation,itkillsoffmoreinsectsthaninitiallyintendedandexpandsitsdiettoincludethingssuchassnails,worms,andtheeggsofwadingbirds.AttemptstoeliminatehedgehogsfrombirdcoloniesontheScottishislandsofNorthUistandBenbeculaintheOuterHebrideshavemetwithconsiderableopposition.

Hedgehogdiseases

Therearemanydiseasescommontohedgehogs,mostlyfatal.Theseincludecancer,fattyliverdisease,cardiovasculardisease,andwobblyhedgehogsyndrome.

Cancerisverycommoninhedgehogs.Themostcommonissquamouscellcarcinoma.Squamouscellspreadsquicklyfromthebonetotheorgansinhedgehogs,unlikeinhumans.Surgerytoremovethetumorsisrarebecauseitwouldresultinremovingtoomuchbonestructure.

Fattyliverdiseaseisbelievedbymanytobecausedbybaddiet.Hedgehogswilleagerlyeatfoodsthatarehighinfatandsugar.Havingametabolismdesignedforlow-fat,protein-richinsects,thisleadstocommonproblemsofobesity.Fattyliverdiseaseisonesign,heartdiseaseisanother.

Wobblyhedgehogsyndromeisverysimilartomultiplesclerosisinhumans.Thehedgehogslowlylosesmusclecontrol.Initially,itwobbleswhenattemptingtostandstill.Giventime,thehedgehoglosesallmusclecontrol,includingcontrolofthelungsandheart.VitaminEhasbeenshowntodelaythedeterioration,butitisverytemporaryasahigherandhigherdoseisrequired.

Humaninfluence

Aswithmostsmallmammalslivingaroundhumans,carsposeagreatthreattohedgehogs.Manyarerunoverastheyattempttocrossroadways.

Anothercommonhuman-relatedfatalityispesticides.Hedgehogsthateatinsectsfilledwithpesticideswilloftenformdigestiveproblemsandeventuallydie.

Hedgehogsareafoodsourceinmanycultures.Acommonrecipe,oftenattributedtotheRomapeople,istobakeahedgehogthathasbeencoveredinplasterorclay.Whenthehedgehogistakenoutoftheoven,theplasterissmashed,alsobringingdownthebonesandspikesofthehedgehog,leavingonlythemeat.

In2006,McDonald'schangedthedesignoftheirMcFlurrycontainerstobemorehedgehog-friendly.Previously,hedgehogswouldgettheirheadstuckinthecontainerastheytriedtolicktheremainingfoodfrominsidethecup.Then,theywouldstarvetodeath,beingunabletogetout.Ofnote:Domesticatedhedgehogsdisplaythisbehaviorbygettingtheirheadstuckintubes(commonly,toiletpapertubes)andwalkingaroundwiththetubeontheirhead.Hedgehogownersoftenrefertothisastubingandpromotethebehaviorbysupplyingcleantubes.

DuringtheMiddleAgeshedgehogswereseenasasourceoffood.Severalrecipesfromthetimecallfortheuseofhedgehogmeat.

Trivia

Thename'hedgehog'cameintousearoundtheyear1450,derivedfromthemiddleEnglishword'heyghoge'.Otherfolknamesinclude'urchin','hedgepig'and'furze-pig'.

TheonlycolonyofBlondehedgehogsintheworldcanbefoundontheChannelIslandofAlderney.