Kingdom: Animals
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Insectivores
Family: 6
Species: 365
If you were to guess what an insectivore eats, what would you say? If you said insects, you are partially correct. Different species will dine on plants, fish, frogs, crabs, eggs, scorpions, and yes, insects. Insectivores usually have long slender noses and an excellent sense of smell. Hedgehogs have excellent hearing.
Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec
Order: Insectivores
Family: Tenrecidae
Range: Madagascar
Habitat: Forest & Grassland
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Scientific Name: Echinops telfairi
Our lesser hedgehog tenrecs (Echinops telfairi) are used for mobile zoo programs and are favorites of our volunteers. They look like a hedgehog, but they are not. Tenrecs can roll into a ball like a hedgehog, but the muscles controlling their spines are not a specialized. Tenrecs are slightly smaller than hedgehogs and have a short tail covered with spines. If rolling into a ball does not keep a predator away, the tenrec goes on the offensive, charging at the intruder with their teeth bared. Don’t upset a tenrec!
African Pygmy Hedgehog
Order: Insectivores
Family: Erinaceidae
Range: Central Africa
Habitat: Hard ground of cliffs and plains
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Scientific Name: Atelerix albiventris
The African pygmy hedgehogs are also used in our mobile zoo programs. Their bodies, except for their faces, are covered with spines. Besides serving as protection against enemies, spines act as a cushion when the hedgehog falls or drops deliberately from a height. They have 36 teeth for eating frogs, invertebrates, snakes, lizards, and young birds and mice. Actually they will eat nearly anything, including carrion.