An animal of European grasslands, hedgerows and gardens. Spines cover its back, and it curls into a ball when threatened.
Spines cover the back, while hair covers the face, belly and legs. It has a pointed snout.
European hedgehogs may tuck their faces inward, curl up or run away. Their responses to an approaching object can therefore include several postures and movements.
In Denmark in 2022, researchers tested 50 rehabilitated hedgehogs ready for release. Each encountered a lawn-mowing robot twice at night. Its blades had been removed, and it was stopped one metre from the first ten animals and half a metre from the remaining forty.
Across 100 trials, curling up occurred once and running away 15 times. The most common response was standing with the head tucked inward, also the starting posture. Responses tended to be more cautious in the second trial. Understanding this variety can inform machines suited to gardens shared with hedgehogs.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
In its October 2024 announcement, IUCN reported the species’ move to Near Threatened, identifying habitat degradation from intensive agriculture, roads and urban development as causes of decline. Research also addresses garden machinery: a separate experiment using carcasses found that some of 19 mower models caused injuries. Its authors proposed standardised safety tests using models representing different body sizes and orientations.