Biodiversity Stumper

Discussion in 'Plants and Biodiversity Stumpers' started by Daniel Mosquin, Jan 11, 2010.

  1. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Just remember -- it doesn't have to be a plant now that these are biodiversity stumpers.
     

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  2. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Hedgehog Erinaceus sp. (Mammalia: Insectivora)? Don't really think so, but no harm in trying!
     
  3. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    I'd love to see a hedgehog in the wild, but I've not done so yet.
     
  4. leaf kotasek

    leaf kotasek Active Member

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    i take it from your response, daniel, that it's not a hedgehog. is it hystrix africaeaustralis?

    seriously, though, just guessin'. :D
     
  5. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Nope, I've never seen the Cape Porcupine (and that was a no re: the hedgehog).
     
  6. johnnyjumpup

    johnnyjumpup Active Member

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    porcupine? Looks too oval to be a sea urchin.
     
  7. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    My stumpers are the worst. People always get them too quickly!

    This porcupine was encountered while driving along the Willow Fishhook / Hatcher Pass Road north of Anchorage in July of last year.
     

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  8. leaf kotasek

    leaf kotasek Active Member

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    cool! nice porcupine pics, daniel.
     
  9. johnnyjumpup

    johnnyjumpup Active Member

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    Yes, good to see live pics AND going in the opposite direction.
     
  10. Liz

    Liz Well-Known Member 10 Years

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  11. johnnyjumpup

    johnnyjumpup Active Member

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    Thanks for the info on the echidna. He's a cute little guy. A little smaller than our porcupine, I think. Are his spines as sharp and barbed as the porcupine? Thinking if you stepped on one with bare feet whilst he was in the act of burrowing into the ground...

    I only saw a hedgehog once, many years ago, in an apartment in Rome(!). He fit into the palm of my hand and his spines felt like the end of feather quills. An English friend once told me her local hedgehogs came in from her garden through the catflap to eat the cat chow. How adaptable is that?
     
  12. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    That'd be a baby Hedgehog. Adults are 25-30cm long, and with hard, sharp spines.
     
  13. johnnyjumpup

    johnnyjumpup Active Member

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    That would explain how they were able to negotiate the cat flap. I didn't realise they got so big. Very cute all the same.
     
  14. Liz

    Liz Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    The echidna quills I think are short and "fat" and same length all over. Bit like a spiney dome. I don't think you would be walking in barefeet where they live unless you have leather feet. Besides usually too many ants that bite. I am pretty sure echidna would not do the cat food over unless you lived in a true bush shack with very little to no disturbance. They are out in the true bush not cultivated garden areas. But I may be wrong.

    Liz
     
  15. johnnyjumpup

    johnnyjumpup Active Member

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    Yipes! Forgot about all the things that bite, sting, etc. in Austrailia. Boots for me, the higher the better.
     
  16. C.Wick

    C.Wick Active Member

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    Ah Daniel, love the porcupines! While camping in Red Wood forest in California as a kid, we'd often see them trundling thru the woods. We'd collect quills that we'd find left behind. Amazing to know the American Indians used these extremely hard pieces of hair in their ornamentation of their regalia! Thanx for the wonderful memories
     
  17. Stefan

    Stefan Member

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    We used to get lots around here. But the only one i have seen recently is a squashed one, on a motorway! Development! :shakes fist:
     

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