At the Moscow Zoo, white-breasted hedgehogs have begun to emerge from hibernation, having fallen asleep at the end of October. The Zoo’s General Director, Svetlana Akulova, spoke about this on Sunday, March 22.
She noted that their sleep this year was particularly sound due to the heavy snowfall and abnormally low temperatures, so the hedgehogs entered a state of hibernation for more than four months.
– Animals that slept at the end of October with the first cold wave began to emerge from hibernation in the second half of March. Akulova said that winter sleep this year was sound due to heavy snowfall and abnormally low temperatures: hedgehogs spent more than four months in continuous sleep.
The Director General of the Zoo pointed out that white-breasted hedgehogs are characterized by deep lethargy, as life processes slow down significantly: the body temperature drops to approximately 1.8 degrees, the heartbeat slows down, and breathing decreases to one breath per minute. This allows them to easily withstand severe frosts.
Akulova also said that specialists help the animals recover from sleep, starting with eating light food in small portions and gradually increasing the diet until the hedgehogs gain the required weight by autumn. The menu includes insects, beef, chicken and cheese, and it is already clear that hedgehogs show concern for the environment, the city’s news agency reported.Moscow».
On March 18, the residents of the Moscow Zoo also came out of hibernation. Among the bears that woke up from sleep were brown bears and Himalayan bears. “Moscow Evening” watched the first steps of animals.