Medway Test practice papers

Hedgehogs in the garden

[1]Hedgehogs are among the most familiar wild animals in Britain, yet many people have never seen one. This is because hedgehogs are nocturnal: they sleep during the day and come out to feed after dark.

[2]A hedgehog's back is covered in thousands of spines. Each spine is a hollow hair made stiff with keratin, the same material as your fingernails. When a hedgehog is frightened, it does not run away. Instead, it tucks in its head and legs and rolls into a tight ball, so that only the spines face outwards. This works well against foxes, but it is no defence against cars.

[3]Hedgehogs eat mainly insects and other small creatures, such as beetles, caterpillars, slugs and earthworms. For this reason, gardeners often welcome them. A single hedgehog may travel about a mile in one night in search of food, snuffling and grunting as it goes. These noises are how the animal got its name: it lives in hedges and makes sounds like a pig, or "hog".

[4]In winter, food is hard to find. Hedgehogs survive by hibernating. They build a nest of leaves, often under a shed or in a pile of logs, and their bodies slow right down. Their heartbeat drops and their temperature falls, so that they use very little energy. A hedgehog that has not eaten enough during the autumn may not survive until spring.

[5]Sadly, the number of hedgehogs in Britain has fallen sharply in recent years. Garden fences are one problem. A hedgehog needs to roam between many gardens to find enough to eat, but solid fences block its way. Some families now cut a small gap, about the size of a CD case, at the bottom of their fence. These "hedgehog highways" let the animals move freely from garden to garden.