Post #14387

Crazy hunger and thirst for lust: How do hedgehogs recover from hibernation? There are two types of people in the morning - those who have a good morning, and those whom it is better not to approach before coffee. Hedgehogs on this spectrum were closer to the first, because their morning begins with gluttony and lust! Hedgehogs that have barely emerged from hibernation are accelerating the pace of their lives to the fullest! April. Winter is already clearly losing ground in the range of the European hedgehog. The natural solarium heats the living space of the animal to positive temperatures, and the hedgehog’s body launches the “Two Deadly Sins” protocol. When the temperature rises to +5-10 degrees, hedgehogs roll out to explore the area. But, as is usually the case, awakening does not happen instantly. “Five more minutes” from the animal’s point of view looks like several days of careful forays and light snacks, and then a hasty retreat into slumber. But it’s worth surviving five nights without hibernation, and the hedgehog finally comes out of winter sleep. There is a serious reason for this - while in the kingdom of Morpheus, the thorn lost almost a quarter of its weight. And it's time to replenish your supplies. Let others lose weight by the summer, the hedgehog urgently needs to gain weight by the same time. And he works tirelessly. Hedgehogs consume food around the clock. Literally: usually, these are nocturnal predators. But immediately after hibernation, the thorns hunt even during the day. All small living creatures - insects, lizards, eggs - are distributed. The body demands protein and the hedgehog obeys, committing spring genocide and gaining muscle mass as if there would be a prickly bodybuilding competition in the summer. But noisy trampling in the bushes is not limited to gluttony. Immediately after awakening, another desire sets in - to reproduce. While still dozing, the male hedgehogs received a serious dose of testosterone. The male hormone urgently needs to be used. So, in the intervals between playful crunching and hungry slurping, hedgehogs try to find a mate. There is not even a hint of pickiness and monogamy in this process. Debauchery and lust lead to the fact that cubs from one litter can have up to five fathers! This phenomenon is called superfecundation, when there is one mother and two or more fathers. Thanks to this mechanism, several eggs of the same sexual period are fertilized by sperm from different males. It may not be very clear how hedgehogs mate given their spines. And there are several secrets here. When the female is ready, she relaxes her muscles and presses the needles as flat as possible to her body. The male climbs up from behind, resting his front paws on her back. It is protected by thick skin on the belly and the inside of the paws. The process is short. With this approach, the genetics of prickly babies will be as varied as possible, and they will have a greater chance of sur