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Tuatara: Volume 10, Issue 1, April 1962

Rotary Ambulation in Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus)

Rotary Ambulation in Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus)

One summer evening I heard a curiously steady, rhythmic sniffing coming from outside, beneath the open window. At first I took no notice, but after it had gone on for some time with no diminution in either loudness or regularity I went over to investigate. On the concrete path below were two hedgehogs walking steadily in a tight circle, of about 12 inches diameter, following each other, both sniffing hard as they went. They neither paused nor deviated from this circular routine. I went back to my reading, but as the incessant sniffing continued monotonously for over half an hour I emptied a glass of water over the two animals. They each ran off separate ways into the darkness and were heard no more.

I.F.

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