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Hedgehogs can be found widely throughout arid deserts and dry steepes
Scientific Name: Paraechinus aethiopicus
Common Name: Desert Hedgehog
Dimensions: Length: 14 – 23 cm Tail Length: 1 – 3 cm Adult Weight: 350 – 550 gm within Qatar
Medium: model
Registration Number: RPN.2018.0539
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The desert hedgehog is recognized by its distinctive features, including a dark patch on its face, prominent large ears, and a noticeable center-parting of spines on the top of its head. Its body coloration typically leans towards pale shades with darker legs. On the underside, the fur is a blend of white, brown, and black.
Habitat and Biology
The desert hedgehog inhabits arid desert and dry steppes, often preferring areas with accessible food sources like oases and vegetated wadis. Its diet includes a variety of insects, invertebrates, occasional small vertebrates, ground-nesting bird eggs and chicks, and even creatures like scorpions. In Qatar, they breed from late January to July, giving birth to 1 to 3 offspring after a gestation period of 30 to 40 days within a burrow or hidden nest. Some individuals, particularly females, undergo torpor between mid-November and early February.
ECO System Qatar
Rawda, which means garden, are pockets of green in the desert. They form in depressions in the desert surface. Fine soils blown by the wind are gradually deposited and compacted in the depressions, allowing plants to grow in it. These soils hold water far better than the rocky or sandy surroundings. Rawda are known as sweet soil areas, as they are so fertile. Many different plants and animals thrive in these hospitable conditions. People use them for farming and date plantations.
PUBLICATIONS AND RESEARCH
Jennings, Michael C. (Author), Krupp, Friedhelm (Editor), Al-Suwaiyel, Mohammed bin Ibrahim (Preface By). (Series: Fauna of Arabia, Volume: 13). Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Arabia. Publisher: Karger Libri. 2010.