Love and bites

1994/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biologia

How is male hedgehog equated with female? Peggy Rismiller, from the University of Adelaide (Australia), says that “with great prudence and passion”. He has analyzed the sexual behavior of the animals of the Ekna family. These solitary animals reproduce in winter. The males leave their retirement places and line up one after another to the place of the females. The males try to court enthusiastically, since if the female remains the first only a ball of thorns.

If the female likes the male courtship, she lies on the belly and hides underground. Then the males cut the hole around, fighting each other, and in the end only one remains. This gives continuity to its drilling. Stroke the female with the front legs and try to pick up the tail with the back ones. It takes at least four hours to perform all these maneuvers and keep your tail under that of the female.

The pairing can last three hours and in the end both wave their thorns and separate them.