Bioactive Hedgehog Enclosure - Habitat Inspiration
During the summer of 2021, Nathan and I traveled to Kenya and Tanzania with the goal of experiencing the natural habitat that our Atelerix albiventris hedgehogs live in! I hope you enjoy browsing these photos we took to give people a "feel" for the habitat and wildlife community that our hedgies are adapted for.
PS: We did get to see a wild hedgehog. I cried. It was a huge achievement off my bucket list. It turns out that she was just as friendly as the average pet hedgehog!
In no particular order - wild spaces, potential prey items, plants, other animals hedgehogs live among, etc. from Kenya and Tanzania:
Eek! This is her! Isn't she just gorgeous?
![A wild four-toed hedgehog (African pygmy hedgehog) foraging at night](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/DSC04722-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744363)
![A cricket out at night](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/DSC04739-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744408)
![Small black beetles in the soil](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/DSC04741-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744448)
![A hedgehog's eye view of the ground at night](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/DSC04744-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744477)
![A dove on red soil among dried grass](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_0135-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744515)
![A huge baobab tree on the savannah](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_0238-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744559)
![A ground-level view of the savannah](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_0264-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744587)
![A ground-level view of the savannah](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_0319-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744614)
![A view of trees across the savannah](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_0374-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744638)
![A lilac breasted roller bird on a tree stump](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_0377-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744666)
![A dik dik on the savannah](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_0383-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744695)
![Wild eland among grass and trees](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_0451-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744720)
![A giraffe on the savannah](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_0471-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744748)
![An olive baboon looks into the camera while being groomed by another.](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_1077-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744768)
![Thorny plants](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_1111-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744834)
![A matriarch elephant on the savannah](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_1195-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744857)
![A mousebird sitting in a tree](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_1270-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744881)
![A look across grassy hills in northern Tanzania](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_1439-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744908)
![Sansevieria plants along the road](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_2110-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744940)
![A giraffe drinking from a pond](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_8221-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744969)
![A male-female pair of bush hyrax outside their burrow](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_8949-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673744992)
![A wild cockroach spotted under a rock in Nairobi National Park](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_8974-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673745021)
![Many grasshopper nymphs on one leaf](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_9234-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673745071)
![Various plants growing in a forested area](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_9305-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673745098)
![Wildebeest, zebra and gazelle browsing a manicured field in northern Tanzania](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0077/0297/0425/files/IMG_9737-LR_480x480.jpg?v=1673745132)
I hope you found it interesting to imagine hedgehogs living in these places! I know it greatly improved and reinforced my understanding of their behavior to watch one in the wild, and to consider their place within the broader context of the ecosystem.