Daurian Hedgehog
From Freepedia
| Daurian hedgehog</br>Conservation status: Endangered | ||||||||||||||
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| Image:Daurian hedgehog.gif Daurian hedgehog | ||||||||||||||
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| Mesechinus dauuricus (Sundevall, 1842) |
The Daurian Hedgehog Mesechinus dauuricus is a solitary small hedgehog. It is listed in Red book of Russian Federation as a protected species with an unclear status, generally considered to be endangered. It populates Transbaikal region of Russia (this region is sometimes called Dauria, hence the name) and Northern Mongolia. Lives in dens. Inhabits both forests and steppes. Adult Daurian hedgehogs are 15 to 20 centimeters long and weighs up to 1 kilogramm (usually around 600 grams). Lives up to 6 years in hature. Hibernates.
After introduction and extensive use of pesticides in mid-1960s the Russian population of Daurian hedgehog suffered a major loss. Since that time, the species seems to somewhat recover, although its population haven't reached its old size - yet. As of today, Daurian hedgehog seems to recover and tend to move northwards and closer to cities due to more abundant food, less danger from agricultural activities and toleration from humans. Cases of new populations of hedgehogs ignited by several adults moved by man to new area are reported. Due to the low population density of the region the complete status of the hedgehog is unclear.
Some scientists put Daurian hedgehog into Erinaceus family as a subspecies of Western European hedgehog
