WILD CREATURES OF GARDEN AND HEDGEROW 



They were having such a hearty meal that I 

 drew back without disturbing them. I fancy 

 the explanation must have been that the old 

 hedgehog had a family of her own somewhere, 

 and finding herself without them adopted these 

 motherless ones in their place. At any rate, 

 I returned them all, as soon as I could, to the 

 hedgerow where the old one had come from, 

 and have often wondered what happened to 

 the family. 



Baby hedgehogs are about two and a half 

 inches long when born, blind and feeble, but 

 already covered with spines. At this early 

 age the spines are white and quite soft, and 

 contrast oddly with their pale blue-grey skin. 

 They rapidly darken, the skin becoming grey, 

 and the spines hardening and deepening in 

 tint. At first their little ears hang forward, 

 nor are they able to contract into a ball, 

 though when touched they try to do so, but 

 only succeed in drawing down the skin of 

 their foreheads towards their snouts. It is 

 very difficult to keep little hedgehogs alive 

 and well in captivity, as the mother dislikes 

 being interfered with, and as often as not 

 turns cannibal and eats her own babies. I 

 had a family brought to me that had been 



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