Five Fun Facts

Five Fun Facts about Hedgehogs

• Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals, which means they often sleep during the day in a nest or under bushes before coming out to feed at night.
• Hedgehogs roll into a tight ball if threatened by predators making it hard for its attacker to get past the spiky defences.
• A baby hedgehog is called a Hoglet. It is born without any quills at all, then they start appearing after a couple of hours.
• Hedgehogs have weak eyesight but a strong sense of smell and hearing. They can swim, climb and run surprisingly quickly over short distances.
• An adult hedgehog has 3000-5000 quills on its body. Each quill lasts for about 1 year then it will fall out and a new one will replace it.

More Hedgehog Facts and Information

You can help hedgehogs by offering them food and water. It is best to offer them meaty cat or dog food, cat biscuits or purpose bought hedgehog food, and only give them water to drink.
This is especially needed in the run up to hibernation (late December) when they need to build up their fat reserves, or in dry weather when natural food and water are scarce.
If you would like to know more about hedgehogs, we recommend visiting the British Hedgehog Preservation Society website

Five Fun Facts about Rabbits

• A baby rabbit is called a Kitten or Kit, a female is called a doe and a male is called a buck.
• Rabbits live in burrows or warrens, a series of tunnels and rooms that they dig underground.
• They perform an athletic leap, known as a ‘binky’ when they are happy, with twists and kicks in mid- air.
• A rabbit has long ears which grow up to 10 cm long. They can turn their ears round by 180 degrees listening out for danger.
• They eat grass, wildflowers, and vegetables.

Five Fun Facts about Squirrels

• Squirrels eat acorns, tree shoots, buds, nuts and roots.
• Their nest is called a drey and is made of twigs, leaves, bark and grass. It will be high up in a tree or in a hollow trunk.
• Most squirrels in the UK are grey but we also have red squirrels which are mainly found in Scotland.
• Their body is about 30cm long and their tails are around 25cm long.
• Squirrels tails are used for balance when running and leaping between trees.
  

Five Fun Facts about Foxes

• Foxes eat just about anything. Mice, rabbits, birds, bugs, fruit and berries. They also love to go down peoples’ dustbins to find something to eat.
• They have large triangular ears and exceptional hearing. Their ears help them to hear rodents scurrying about.
• Foxes can live in the countryside or in towns. They live in dens in the ground or in old trees.
• A male fox is called a dog. A female fox is a vixen and a baby is called a cub.
• Foxes are nocturnal which means they usually sleep during the day and are awake at night.

Five Fun Facts about Deer

• There are six types of deer living in the UK. Scottish Red Deer, Roe Deer, Fallow Deer, Sika Deer, Muntjac Deer and Chinese Water Deer.
• Male deer have antlers which shed (fall off) each year and new ones grow each year.
• The male is called a buck and the female, a doe. The young are called fawns or kids.
• Most deer are found living in groups, mainly in woodland to give them shelter. They eat young tree shoots and plants.
• The herd would be all female apart from one male who is in control. During the breeding season, another male would try to take over the herd and the two males will fight using their antlers for control. This is called ‘a rut’.