ANIMALS WITH ARMOUR 105 



that share of attention that they deserve. People who know little 

 of such creatures shudder at the thought of them, let alone the 

 sight. Not long since I saw four distinct kinds of parasites taken 

 from the body of a Mole, and when I display these and other 

 subjects at my lectures, I notice time and time again the general 

 repulsion that is felt at the sight of these creatures, many of whose 

 life-histories are far too important and even useful to be passed by. 



If you do not decide, then, to carry the Hedgehog home, but 

 wait until it unrolls its body, just watch it run and then try to catch 

 it. I have been amazed at the speed it can attain. 



It seems a shy creature and hates being watched. So soon as 

 encountered it promptly rolls itself into a ball, as shown in Fig. 77. 

 It has a Pig-like face, and although timid in a natural state, it 

 learns, when in captivity, to become docile and trustful in a short 

 time. The worst case against it as a pet when given its liberty, 

 even in a securely walled-in garden, is its remarkable habit of 

 making good its escape in a most unaccountable way. 



Ably protected by its spiny coat, the Hedgehog has existed 

 where other animals have gone under, and has changed very little 

 from its earlier form. Its nocturnal habits have also afforded 

 assistance to it. It is one of the oldest animals we have; it is well- 

 guarded from the attacks of other predaceous beasts, and itself 

 encounters an Adder with inevitably fatal results to the last-named. 



The Hedgehog angers the Adder until the latter is thoroughly 

 roused. The Snake prepares to attack its mammalian adversary, 

 and darts at it with unerring aim. The Snake, however, has 

 reckoned without its host, for the Hedgehog, quick as thought, 

 curls into a ball before the impact, and the reptile finds itself 

 impaled in the spines, to meet certain death. Then the Hedgehog, 

 satisfied with the result of its strategy, unrolls its body and feeds 

 upon its prey ! 



If the animal now under review is sought for during the day, 

 search should be made along a hedge-bottom, where it may be 

 found snugly tucked up among dead leaves or grasses. During the 

 Winter it hibernates, making a cosy nesting-place of leaves at the 

 base of a tree where there is a convenient hollow, in a wood, thicket, 

 hedgerow or other environment. No food is taken during this 

 Winter fasting, and thus with the advent of Spring the beast 

 possesses a keen appetite, which is not easily appeased. 



The two to four young ones are born during the early days of 



