The Ethiopian hedgehog is a small mammal with sharp spines on its back and sides. It lives in hot deserts and semi-deserts of North Africa and the Middle East.
The Ethiopian hedgehog differs from other hedgehogs in its light coloration and ability to live in very dry and hot places. It is beneficial to nature because it eats many harmful insects and scorpions.
Nocturnal prey search using smell and hearing.
homogamy, reproduction always with fertilization, no alternation of generations
Worker
birth time
breeding
Hot and almost no precipitation
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
days
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
adult
Maturity
plants
invertebrates
insects
About health
milk
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Snout color
Repro interval
results
Colors
Sex
very hot and almost no rain
Upcoming jubilees
scorpions
Gremllins
mo
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
rains are very rare, almost a desert
Trophic type
all living animals without backbone
Filters
summer very hot, dry, lots of grass
Upcoming birthdays
eggs, roe or offspring develop in a nest built on the ground or close to it
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
in a burrow
Height
nest on the ground
Desert and dry shrubs
young are born live on land, not hatched from eggs or roe
Very hot and almost dry
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
Age (embryo)
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Wanderers
Food items are collected from exposed outer surfaces of substrates.
small reptiles
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Ears size
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
nest located directly on the ground surface on land, only the mother provides parental care for the offspring
in a terrestrial nest
Regeneration
live birth
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
arid steppe hot
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
nest hidden in an underground burrow
scorpions
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
Spines color
small lizards
Hot steppe
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
Legs size
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
desert and semi-desert
turns
Rascals
terrestrial grassland and steppe
olfaction
drink mother's milk in childhood
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
desert
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
normal sexual
Taxons
if born as {name}
spiders
omnivore
age
birth date
Palearctic realm
arid terrestrial biotopes with sparse vegetation
rest
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
nocturnal
The basics
herbivory, feed only on plant food
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
surface
primary food sources
teeth
burrow
after transformation until death
Potential Habitat
lots of grass, few trees, rains are rare
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Gestation
from 130 grams to 0.5 kilograms, 0.35 – 0.8 meters
land
{name} birthday
No results found
On the map
lunge
all life stages
Female ♀
world of Afrotropics
nest located directly on the ground surface on land
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
lots of grass, few trees, rains occur
Shelter used specifically for reproduction or nesting.
Maturity
Skin color
hearing
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
Snout size
protection from sun
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
Legs color
What if eaten?
spiders
Very dry
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
caring mother
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Ears color
Hard dental structures used to bite, tear, or scrape food.
world of Afrotropics
Very hot and dry
Duration
live insects
This is me
Foraging activity occurs primarily during nighttime hours.
Steppe
Gamers
How are they built?
Spines count
Temperate steppe
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
Nocturnal prey search using smell and hearing.
My age?
wk
My size?
live spiders — arachnids of all sizes
very hot during the day, cold at night, almost no rain
terrestrial
Asexual
swap
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
inhabit and develop on land, outside water bodies
celebrated their {n} birthday
open grassy spaces — steppes, savannas, prairies
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
very hot and almost no precipitation
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Zucchini
Length
kg
very hot and dry, rare rains, cacti live
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
small lizards and snakes
◉{N} more on tap