🐾European hedgehog
Der Braunbrustigel (Erinaceus europaeus), auch Westeuropäischer Igel oder Westigel genannt, ist ein Säugetier aus der Familie der Igel (Erinaceidae). Das Verbreitungsgebiet umfasst weite Teile Mittel-, West-, Süd- und Nordeuropas. In Ostmittel- und Osteuropa sowie in Teilen Westasiens ist dagegen der ebenfalls zu den Kleinohrigeln zählende Nördliche Weißbrustigel die vorherrschende Art. Der Igel ist 2009 von der Schutzgemeinschaft Deutsches Wild und erneut 2024 von der Deutschen Wildtier Stiftung zum Tier des Jahres gewählt worden. In der Schweiz wurde er von ProNatura 2026 zum Tier des Jahres gewählt.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2024.
- Body mass
- 0.78 kg
- Body length
- 0.27 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 14 years
Everything we know about the European hedgehog
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass0.78 kgCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 0.75 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Body length0.27 mCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Brain mass3.48 gCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan14 yearsCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 12 yearsAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Generation length4.4 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Age at maturity266 daysCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Gestation36 daysCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 30 daysAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Litter sizeabout 4COMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 1.5AnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Trophic levelCarnivoreCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Activity cycleNocturnalCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Home range0.08 km²COMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Population density58 per km²COMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l0.8 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for European hedgehog yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classMammalia
- ›orderErinaceomorpha
- ›familyErinaceidae
- ›genusErinaceus
- ›speciesErinaceus europaeus
- classMammals · Mammalia
- familyErinaceidae
- subfamilyErinaceinae
- genusErinaceus
All 14 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- classMammals · Mammalia
- subclassTheria
- superorderLaurasiatheria
- orderEulipotyphla
- familyErinaceidae
- subfamilyErinaceinae
- genusErinaceus
More about the European hedgehog
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