ANiMAL MUNDi: My, What Big Ears You Have by TheFrogBag

My, What Big Ears You Have

written by Corinna of TheFrogBag

Think of animals famous for their ears. Rabbits instantly come to mind. Followed closely by elephants, beagles, even bats. For most people hedgehogs will be pretty low on that list. But those people just haven’t been introduced to enough members of family Erinaceidae. 

Hedgehogs generally look pretty similar. Their bodies are small and prickly, their snouts long and pointy, their babies dangerously cute. But Hemiechinus auritus has something that most hedgehogs lack: the most adorable ears you’ve ever seen.  

Like its better-known British counterpart, the central Asian and north African auritus sometimes rolls into a ball of spines when threatened. But it’s just as likely to extend its relatively long legs and race away from predators. Long-eareds are really pretty fast, at least by hedgehog trundling standards. Probably none of these escape mechanisms saved it from being hunted by the ancient Africans, though. Recipes calling for hedgehog as a major ingredient have been found in Egyptian ruins.

It’s likely that then, as now, long-eared hedgehogs liked to settle in burrows and gullies around human habitations. Like people, they prefer countryside that is not too dry, not too hot, not too cold, and not too damp. Unlike people, they can and do sometimes go for up to 10 weeks without food or water, making them well suited for life in the desert. 

Their big ears are yet another desert-dwelling modification. Despite their excellent hearing, auditory prowess is not their ears’ primary function. Instead, they’re used as giant radiators, allowing heat to escape from their squat little bodies. Pale and often nearly translucent, they’re filled with capillaries that “dump” excess heat into the air and away from the hedgehog’s brain.

Their nocturnal habits also help with thermoregulation, but make them easy targets for the eagle-owls who hunt over much of their range. By some estimates long-eared hedgehogs make up nearly 15% of the eagle-owls diet. 

As for the hedgehogs, they’re predatory too, but their prey is a lot less cute. They eat a lot of snails, insects, and carrion, as well as some fruit and seeds. Invertebrate species that humans consider pests make up a large part of their diet, a fact that makes them welcome guests around many farms. 

No one knows for sure how many long-eared hedgehogs exist in the world today, but their numbers seem to be holding steady. Long may they trundle !