Hedgehogs are very cute mammals. I remember when I was a child, I would often see hedgehogs when I went to hold firewood in a pile of firewood. Sometimes, if I was lucky, I would find a nest of newborn hedgehogs. However, at that time, the impression of hedgehogs was still that they liked to eat fruits and stick fruits on their bodies.

It was only later that You know, hedgehogs are insectivores. They like to eat insects and worms, not fruits, and their thorns are not used to prick fruits, but for defense. It is precisely because of this that in winter when there are very few insects, hedgehogs without food are forced to enter hibernation.

And hedgehogs are not just as "weak" as they appear on the surface, because some hedgehogs will even eat venomous scorpions, venomous snakes and other animals. What is going on? As an animal with almost full defense, will hedgehogs be eaten by snakes? Let’s find out together.

Hedgehogs’ main food is insects and worms, but they will also hunt poisonous and ferocious animals such as scorpions and venomous snakes. As early as the 19th century In the mid-term, when European scientists were studying European hedgehogs in the wild, they discovered that they "interacted frequently" with a highly venomous snake, and this venomous snake was the famousNorthern Viper.

The Arctic viper is the most widely distributed viper, with its distribution ranging from Scandinavia to central France and extending east to the Pacific coast of Russia , and the Arctic viper is the only venomous snake that appears in the Arctic.

The arctic viper is a highly venomous snake. Its venom contains a large amount of toxins circulating in the blood. Once bitten by it, in addition to severe pain in the wound, the wound will continue to bleed and necrosis. Therefore, in many areas of Europe, the Arctic viper has been hunted wildly due to its toxicity.

Okay, let’s get back to the topic. Scientists have discovered that the interaction between hedgehogs and arctic vipers is not that arctic vipers hunt hedgehogs, but the opposite. Hedgehogs will kill young arctic vipers, although they are not adults. The Arctic viper has an average body length of 14 centimeters and is venomous from birth.

However, it is worth mentioning that after killing the arctic viper, it often takes hedgehogs 1-2 hours toIt can eat up all the northern vipers. Since the arctic viper is poisonous, how do hedgehogs subdue it? Scientists find the answers for us through observation and research.

First of all, although young arctic vipers are poisonous, they lack experience in attacking adult hedgehogs and have extremely limited endurance. When attacking, it is difficult for hedgehogs to block them with their spines every time. Bite.

Secondly, scientists They also found that even if a hedgehog was bitten by an arctic viper, it had no symptoms of poisoning. Through further research, scientists found that hedgehogs actually have a certain degree of resistance to the viper's toxins, and are more immune to venomous snakes than ordinary mammals. At least 30 times stronger.

The amount of venom released by young vipers is relatively small. Under constant consumption by hedgehogs, the vipers will soon be exhausted and want to escape. At this time, the hedgehogs will pounce on them. He bit the snake's head firmly at the back of its neck and kept shaking it, breaking its spine. The reason why the hedgehog can bite the arctic viper is due to the 44 tiny teeth in its mouth. Although these teeth cannot be compared with carnivores, they have no problem biting small snakes.

And precisely because the hedgehog has a small mouth and small teeth, even if it kills a 30 cm long arctic viper, it will have to chew slowly for more than an hour to finish it.

Hedgehogs are a widely distributed mammal, and snakes are found throughout most areas in the tropics and temperate zones. Moreover, hedgehogs are diurnal and nocturnal, which is the same as the habits of most snakes. This is As a result, the two have an interactive relationship, and in the interactive relationship, the hedgehog and the snake are not only enemies, but also cooperate. What is going on? Let's continue chatting.

First of all, the snake eats the hedgehog

In the wild environment, the hedgehog's thorns do not allow it to sit back and relax, because foxes, owls and martens can all hunt hedgehogs, and the method used by foxes is usually The urine is sprayed on the hedgehog that curled up into a ball, forcing it to unfold its body and then bite it to death. However, the owls are simple and violent. They will directly pick up the hedgehog and throw it from the air. After a few times, the hedgehog loses its ability to resist.

So, can snakes kill hedgehogs? The answer is yes, however, only a few snakes can kill hedgehogs, and only a very small number of snakes can eat hedgehogs.

Some snakes can indeed kill hedgehogs. Although hedgehogs have spines all over their backs and will curl up to protect the soft parts of their abdomen when frightened, they can only make small and medium-sized non-venomous snakes helpless. , encounter some large venomous snakes and pythons, they are difficult to escape.

Among them, venomous snakes can bite through the gaps where hedgehogs curl up, while pythons will directly strangle hedgehogs to death without fear of spikes. After all, pythons such as African rock pythons can also strangle porcupines, which are larger than hedgehogs and have thicker and longer spines. .

However, all No venomous snake can swallow a hedgehog. This is because the largest venomous snake in existence is the King Cobra, but it only weighs an average of less than 10 kilograms and has a relatively slender body. When swallowing a hedgehog, the hedgehog's quills can easily get stuck in their bodies. Within the digestive tract.

Only some large pythons can swallow hedgehogs, because after the death of a hedgehog, the spines will not stand up like they did when alive, but stick to the body surface, so that they cannot pass through the thicker digestive tract. It is easy to get stuck. However, after a python eats a hedgehog, it must find a safe place to digest it without moving as soon as possible. Otherwise, the hedgehog's spines may damage the inner wall of the digestive tract when moving. As early as November last year, a similar incident occurred in the Lake Eland Game Reserve in South Africa. On the sixth day after a 3.9-meter-long African rock python swallowed a 13.8-kg porcupine, the digestive tract He bled to death after being pierced by a porcupine quill.

Of course, the interaction between hedgehogs and snakes is not only reflected in hunting each other, they also have a cooperative relationship. Let's talk about the cooperative relationship between the two from two aspects.

01 Hedgehogs can protect snakes
In the wild, snakes and hedgehogs often live in the same area. Although there are existential conflicts between them, in some cases, they can also cooperate and coexist. For example, in caves or other hidden places, snakes that are chased by natural enemies can use hedgehogs to protect themselves. They will get into the place where the hedgehog lives and hide behind the hedgehog. In this way, the snake can avoid natural enemies and protect its own life.

02 Snakes can help hedgehogs get rid of parasites
There is also a cooperative relationship between snakes and hedgehogs, that is, snakes can help hedgehogs get rid of pests around them. In the wild, hedgehogs are often attacked by other insects, such as ants, centipedes, and surface parasites. These insects can bite the hedgehog's skin, causing injury and pain. However, snakes can protect the health of hedgehogs by eating these insects.

Although hedgehogs and snakes often interact with each other, they do rarely hunt each other. Hedgehogs can kill some small snakes, but these are not their main prey, and some Although venomous snakes and pythons can also kill hedgehogs,Even hedgehogs are not their best choice of prey.

On the contrary, the two can coexist peacefully and benefit each other in most cases.