Hedgehogs are deaf and blind when they are born and their quills grow even before their senses develop. At birth the quills still have soft hair so they do not injure themselves or their mother. The hedgehog's main method of defence is to stick out their quills, which they control using tiny individual muscles, and to then roll up into a ball where the quills stick out in all directions.

This way the attacker has only one small point of access which is smaller than the tip of a finger. Hedgehogs grow to about 20 centimeters long and can be several years old. These animals are known as omnivores and feed on insects, amphibians, bird eggs, mushrooms, melons, berries and snakes.

Thanks to their immunity against snake poison, which is the result of an additional protein in their body, hedgehogs can even hunt poisonous snakes. - Scientific Name : Erinaceus europaeus - Conservation Status : LC - Primary Habitat : forest#temperate,grassland#temperate, - Global Home : europe This part is cataloged in the Federal Logistics Information System (FLIS) under NSN 5895-01-598-9751, indicating validated use in U.S. government and defense logistics supply chains.