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If one summer evening, just after dusk, you saw a little creature waddling out from under the shrubbery on its 4 bare feet, sporting a thick coat of closely cropped quills, and making loud snuffling noises with its pointy snout, would you: a) Rub your eyes to see if you’re dreaming b) run for the hills, c) check to see if you’ve been transported back to prehistoric times, d) bust up laughing, e) try to pet it.

Well, if you’re just about anywhere in the world besides North or South America, you are probably looking at a very cute, though somewhat strange looking critter called a hedgehog.

If you chose “c ” as your first reaction, that’s not such an outlandish response. Hedgehogs have been around for 50 million years! They really haven’t changed very much at all.

That prehistoric arsenal the hedgehog carries on his back is mighty impressive. You’d think the little guy would buckle under the weight of all that armor. He’s carrying about 7,000 needle sharp quills that are each about an inch long. However, the quills are not solid. They are filled with a complex network of air chambers and that makes them very strong, but still lightweight.

Don’t let the sight of 7,000 quills scare you. A hedgehog can’t shoot his spiny weapons at you. They’re really more for defense than attack.

A hedgehog’s underside is soft and furry, making it vulnerable to predators like foxes and birds. When threatened, the hedgehog contracts a large muscle on each side of his long backbone. When he does that it’s like pulling the drawstrings on a purse; the hedgehog curls up into a neat ball with his head tucked in and his quills sticking out and that keeps his underside well protected. If you could get a close look you’d see that the quills tend to crisscross one another and form a nearly impenetrable barrier!

But that’s not all those quills are good for. It turns out that hedgehogs are nimble climbers. However, they’re somewhat inept at getting back down again. When the going gets too tough for them they just roll up into a ball and drop! Their spines cushion the fall!

The quills don’t snap in two upon impact because they are quite thin near the hedgehog’s skin. That makes them flexible and they only bend rather than break when the hedgehog hits the ground. Hedgehogs have been seen dropping safely from as high as 20 feet!

Hedgehogs are nocturnal. That means that they rest during the day and are active from dusk till dawn. Hedgehogs can eat their own bodyweight worth of plant-eating insects in just one night! That can be as much as 4 pounds worth of bug morsels! You can see why gardeners are always happy to welcome a hedgehog into their garden!

When insects and slugs become sparse during the winter months, hedgehogs go into hibernation. They sleep through the winter until early spring when warmer weather provides a banquet of delectable insects for their voracious appetites.