Whilst in Dhahran main camp
Phil Roberts found a Desert Hedgehog in his garden where he took the below
photo that he has kindly allowed me to use on my website. The Desert Hedgehog
is a species found in northern Africa, from Morocco & Mauritania in the
west to Egypt in the east as well as the Middle East including Israel, Jordon,
Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman &
Yemen. A typical hedgehog in appearance the Desert Hedgehog has a dense, spiny
coat, an elongated snout and the ability to curl into a defensive ball when
threatened. Its most distinctive feature is the contrasting dark muzzel and
broad white, spineless band across the face, which extends onto the flanks. The
ears are relatively short and rounded and like other members of the genus,
there is a naked patch on the forehead. The legs are long and dark and the
underside is softly furred and is usually a mixture of black, brown and white
while the spines on the back are a light colour with two dark bands. The
overall colouration is quite variable, with some individuals almost totally
white, and others completely dark. It is one of the smallest of hedgehogs being
14 - 28 cms in length and weighing 285 - 510 grams. As its common name
suggests, the Desert Hedgehog inhabits dry deserts, dry steppe and other arid
terrain and often favours areas such as oasis and vegetated wadis where food is
more readily available. It has also been recorded in gardens, cultivated areas,
open woodland and parks like the areas it is found in Dhahran Camp. It is
active at night, is solitary and forages on the ground for a range of insect
and other invertibrate prey, as well as occasionally small vertibrates and even
species such as scorpions, spiders and snakes. They enter hibernation between
January & February, when the temperatures are cooler and may also become
less active during the hottest months and when food is scarce.
