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Ecology & Environment
Pradeep Kumar

25/02/21 12:50 PM IST

Madras hedgehog

In news

The Madras hedgehog, also known as the bare-bellied hedgehog, was discovered in 1851 in what was then known as the Madras Presidency has now been found and these are declining drastically.

Details
  • These insectivorous spiny mammals “have been on this land since before human evolution.
  • We have 423 animals in India, 50% are rats and bats. Besides these, we have shrews, pangolins, hedgehogs and other small mammals, each less than two kilograms that are not always looked at.
  • There is no preserved specimen of this hedgehog, other than one skeleton in the Madras Museum
  • Hedgehogs in the UK, Africa and Central Asia hibernate in winter, but the ones in South India estivate in summer instead.
  • It is not protected under any wildlife act.
  • Scientifically known as paraechinus nudiventris, the animal is insectivorous and nocturnal. Its elusive nature mean there has been limited studies about the species, its habitat and ecology.
Source: The Hindu

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