One Cyprus proverb says: "To raise a village resident is the same as taming a hedgehog." It points to a person uncultured, uneducated and ungrateful. And the hedgehog appears in it, because it is believed that this animal cannot be domesticated.
The endemic subspecies of the eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus doorotheae) live in Cyprus. The “Katsomhiros” is called in a quip, this is the local version of the Greek word “Scanzochiros”, which, in turn, comes from the ancient Greek “acanthiros”, that is, “Pig with spines”. In some languages, hedgehogs were called a word derived from a “pig”-because of the grunting sounds that they make (forcre, English Hedgehog).
This is one of the six endemic who live in the region of Central Asia and the Middle East. Hedgehogs probably arrived at the island along with people during the Neolithic period and initially served as food (by the way, the tradition of cooking hedgehogs was preserved in traditional Cyprus cuisine at least until the end of the twentieth century). Those hedgehogs who managed to escape from people have mastered in the wild. So the endemic subspecies of the eared hedgehog appeared.
In Cyprus, hedgehogs are found mainly in low -powered and foothills, less often in the mountains. This carnivorous animal is fed by insects, lizards, small snakes, snails, slugs, worms, caterpillars, eggs and chicks of birds that nest on the ground, small mammals, amphibians and even carrion. However, most of its diet consists of insects such as grasshoppers. Because of this, the hedgehog is considered very useful for agriculture. The peculiarity of the Cyprus subspecies is that he does not eat plant food at all, unlike his omnivorous mainland counterparts.
Photo Polignosi.com photo polignosi.com
The thorns of the Cyprus hedgehog reach 2 cm. The animal has a pale yellow, sandy color. Hedgehogs use their needles for both defense and hunting. For example, the Cyprus hedgehog is able to attack the victim and ride it in order to stab him to death. Popular pictures that depict a hedgehog carrying mushrooms or apples on thorns are pure fiction and are not true.
In winter, the hedgehogs hibernate in the burrows, which they themselves build under fallen trees, large stones, in dry stone walls and in thick vegetation. In these burrows, they put soft dry grass and leaves. Here, females give birth to cubs, usually three or four in the litter. Hedgehog is able to carry the hedgehog, holding them by the neck, as cats do. The thorns of the cubs are still soft and the mother does not injure herself in any way.
Hedgehogs do not like companies, every animal lives on its own territory. When one hedgehog invades the territory of the other, a fierce fight occurs between them. The only time that they coexist is spring when the male is looking for a female for mating. Imant enemies of hedgehogs in Cyprus are foxes and predatory birds. Many hedgehogs die under the wheels of cars. Others may die, having eaten poisoned meat or insects that have fallen under the effect of insecticides.
Nevertheless, the population of the hedgehogs on the island remains at a satisfactory level.
The text is prepared based on the materials "Polygno".
