ARABIA’S HEDGEHOGS: primitive but successful

all the mammals in Arabia, the hedgehogs are perhaps the most primitive.

Little changed from their ancestors that lived in Africa some 20 million

years ago, they have become well adapted to life in the arid climes that

typify much of the Arabian peninsula.

Three species are present in the region. Of these the long-eared hedgehog

(Hemiechinus auritus) is the one most associated with man. A loner by nature,

it lives not in the true desert but on the margins where it spends the

day secreted in burrows or hidden under stones. It leaves its lair at sunset

and spends up to 80% of the night actively searching for food. With its

long legs and delicate feet it is very much the distance athlete of the

family and can cover in excess of one kilometre from dusk to dawn. Unlike

its omnivorous cousin the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), it is

essentially insectivorous, feeding on beetles, termites and crickets as

well as being partial to snails. Its vision is poor but with its dog-like

muzzle it searches for prey using its acute sense of smell.

Superficially similar to, but larger than, the long-eared hedgehog is

the Ethiopian hedgehog (Paraechinus aethiopicus) which lives in the desert

proper, albeit favouring the oasis and more vegetated wadis. As its name

suggests this species is of African origin with a distribution extending

across the Sahara from Morocco. Its distinguishing characters include a

contrasted black and white muzzle and a naked forehead. This latter character

is a particularly primitive one which is found in the young of all hedgehogs,

although in Hemiechinus and the European hedgehogs, the spines subsequently

grow to cover this bald patch. The spines themselves are hollow with the

thin plates separating their internal air-spaces. Unlike many mammals that

moult annually, spines lasts for several years and are shed and replaced

on an individual basis.

In the mountains of southern Arabia lives the Asian representative of

the genus Paraechinus, Brandt’s hedgehog (P.hypomelas). Like its African

sister species, it too has a bald patch on its forehead. It has a characteristically

dark, spiny carapace which is almost black in colour; the face is sooty

black or blackish brown and the entire under surface of the body is a deep

chocolate brown. Rarer than the other two species, it is apparently confined

to the montane areas of Oman, UAE, southern Yemen and the Asir of Saudi

Arabia. It can survive in extremely barren regions where it looks for natural

shelters such as crevices between rocks or beneath an overhanging ledge.

It is a voracious and aggressive feeder; its prey includes termites, beetles

and locusts and much more surprisingly, venomous snakes. The snakes are

tackled head on with an apparent total disregard for safety, the hedgehog

relying on its long spines for protection. Any part of the snake is grabbed

in the mouth and the combat only ceases when the quarry is rendered immobile.

This usually results from the snake’s spine being broken. Although not

totally immune to snake bites, hedgehogs are remarkably tolerant to their

venom, with a resistance thirty to forty times that of a rodent of equivalent

size. Interestingly enough they are able to withstand numerous stings from

insects such as bees, wasps, and hornets; showing few signs of distress.

Although

the spines of hedgehogs make for a good defence against predators they

are poor insulators against the cold. In consequence, even in Arabia, hedgehogs

hibernate in the winter during periods of prolonged cooler weather. The

long-eared hedgehog hibernates for up to forty days at a time. Its body

becomes torpid with its internal temperature comparable to that of its

surroundings. The breathing becomes shallow and less frequent and the body

is contracted into a tightly rolled-up ball, with the spines erect and

pointing in all directions. This strictly defensive posture contrasts sharply

with its normal sleeping mode in which it lies on its side with its legs

partly extended and with the spines lying flat on the back.

Studies suggest that in Arabia most breeding activity in hedgehogs takes

place between May and June. Female long-eared hedgehogs have a pregnancy

lasting about 36 days and give birth to between one and six offspring.

In any one litter some die whilst others are deliberately cannibalised

by the mother. The young are born deaf and blind and with a rather rubbery,

bloated appearance. Even at this early stage, short soft spines are present

on the back of the young; this is especially the case in Brandt’s hedgehog.

However, for the sake of the mother these spines are retracted into the

skin of the infant during the actual process of birth. Development of the

young is rapid and after two or three weeks they are already feeding on

a variety of foods in addition to the mother’s milk. By four to six weeks

they appear as small but otherwise fully developed adults. Soon the mother

will drive them away and the solitary life-style of these desert hedgehogs

will begin again.

To date the hedgehog has proved a successful member of the rich mammal

fauna of Arabia. Wandering the dunes and wadis, searching the mountains

and deserts for its food, they have become well adapted to the harsh regimes

of this arid land. Friendly and trusting, and with few natural predators,

they look well set for many more years of nomadic existence.