Hedgehog

we caught a hedgehog once! it was so sweet, but stinky though!

ماهو هاذا

Wow, I had no idea there were hedgehogs in New Zealand! The scientific name for them is Erinaceus europaeus. I have just been reading up on them and apparently they were introduced by European colonists in the 1870s to control garden pests such as slugs, snails and grass grubs. Sounds like they're doing too good a job... from Wikipedia: "They prey on the endangered, endemic giant snails (Powelliphanta), the endemic weta species, and various other native invertebrates.The critically endangered Cromwell chafer beetle (Prodontria lewisi) is threatened due to predation by hedgehogs as well as other introduced species. As well as preying on invertebrates hedgehogs may have contributed to the decline and extinction of up to fifteen bird species." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedgehogs_in_New_Zealand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hedgehog