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Hedgehogs have prickly spines everywhere except on their face, legs, and bellies. By curling into a tight ball and tucking in their heads, tail, and legs, they protect the parts of their bodies that do not have stiff, sharp spines. Often compared to pincushions, hedgehogs depend on their spines for defense—both while they sleep and when they face enemies. The head and body of adult hedgehogs range from 5 to 12 inches (13 to 30 centimeters) long and their tail can add 1 to 2 inches (3-5 centimeters). When hedgehogs are born—up to seven in a litter—their spines are soft and short. Soon after birth, their spines harden, becoming stiffer, sharper, and longer. Babies stay in the nest until they’re about three weeks old. By that time, their eyes are open, their spines are effective, and they can safely follow their mother outside the nest as she looks for food. Top on the hedgehog’s menu are insects, followed by small mice, snails, lizards, frogs, eggs, and even snakes. Hedgehogs sometimes add extra protection to their spines by „self-anointing.“ Immune to poisons in some plants, hedgehogs sometimes eat those plants and then make a frothy saliva in their mouths. The hedgehogs then lick their spines, spreading the saliva with the plant’s poison all over the spikes. Though hedgehogs mainly stay on the ground, they swim quite well and even climb trees.
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You may not have seen a skunk in your neighborhood, but you’ve probably smelled one. Their smelly spray, called musk, is not easy to ignore! Skunks live all over North and South America, in rural areas, suburbs, and the city. But if you see one, watch out! The spray, which comes from two glands near the base of the skunk’s tail, can hit a target 12 feet (3.7 meters) away. If you are lucky, you may get a warning before being sprayed. If threatened, skunks stamp their front feet, lift their tail, and growl. Some species of skunk even spring into a handstand before spraying, which puts the skunk’s warning markings on full display. If the person or animal doesn’t retreat, the skunk aims the spray at the eyes, allowing the skunk to escape. The spray can remain on its target for days. Skunks are nocturnal, which means they search for food at night and sleep in dens lined with leaves during the day. Their favorite foods include fruit and plants, plus insects, bird eggs, small rodents, and birds. Birds like the great horned owl prey on skunks. Scientists believe it’s because the birds don’t have a very good sense of smell, which makes the skunk’s spray useless in an attack.
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Though hyenas look like large dogs, they are actually more similar to cats like lions and tigers. Hyenas have very powerful jaws and strong teeth. Spotted hyenas live in large groups called clans, which can include up to 80 hyenas. They hunt in smaller groups and use various techniques to attack different types of animals. They are successful hunters in groups or alone and will even try to catch fish, birds, and bugs in lakes. After catching their prey, spotted hyenas celebrate by making a sound like a laugh. This giggle tells other hyenas that they have food to share, but it can also attract other animals, such as lions, to the feast. This can spark a game of tug-of-war. The most common type is the spotted hyena. Baby spotted hyenas, called cubs, are born with black fur that grows out as lighter hair with spots. Spotted hyena clans, which are led by females, often meet at a large den in the middle of their territory. Hyenas have a complicated system of greeting and interacting with each other. Since they are in charge, females usually get first choice for the best mud baths and other favorite hyena activities.
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The Gila monster is one of only a few poisonous lizards in the world. The Gila (pronounced HEE-luh) is the largest lizard native to the United States. Their black bodies are covered in beadlike scales with bright spots, blotches, or bands of pink, orange, or yellow, which probably warn other animals to stay away. Their bulky bodies, slow-moving stride, thick forked tongue, and snorting hisses reinforce the name Gila monster. They live in the dry, arid regions such as the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Deserts of the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. They are named after the Arizona Gila River Basin, where they were first discovered. Gila monsters are more likely to use their venom on a predator than on prey. They clamp their jaws down with the power of a vise grip. Then the venom in their bottom jaw flows through their grooved teeth into the victim. Although the Gila’s bite is extremely painful, no human death has been reported. Gilas are sluggish creatures that feed primarily on eggs raided from bird nests and newborn mammals, such as rabbits and squirrels. They sometimes eat quail eggs whole without crushing the shells. They spend about 95 percent of their time underground and emerge only to hunt for food or to take a sunbath. They don’t need to eat very often because they can store fat in their large tails.
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A two-inch-long tube-lipped nectar bat hovers by a narrow, bell-shaped flower in its forest habitat. This hungry animal is after nectar at the bottom of the blossom. To get to the goody, the bat pokes its snout into the flower. With the nectar still out of reach, the mammal sticks out its tongue, which is one-and-a-half times the length of its body. After licking up the sticky sweet, the bat retracts its jumbo-size tongue and flies off. TRANSFORMING TONGUE The tube-lipped nectar bat was first discovered in Ecuador, a country in South America. It has the longest tongue compared to its body of any mammal in the world. In fact, if this bat were a person, its tongue would be almost nine feet in length! The bat stores the extra-long licker in its chest until it comes across a flower with yummy nectar inside. Once the animal’s tongue reaches the nectar in the blossom, the tip transforms. Hairlike bristles on the tongue stretch outward, making it prickly. With these bristles extended, the bat can extract more food from the plant. By chowing down on flower nectar, these animals don’t just satisfy their hunger—they also help maintain their habitat. POLLEN POWER As the tube-lipped nectar bat eats from the flower, it brushes against the petals. This causes pollen from the blossom to fall on the bat’s head. The bat sprinkles the pollen from the flower on the next plant it visits. This can lead to the creation of seeds, which get dispersed and grow into new blossoms. Who knew bats were good at gardening? Watch a video of the tube-lipped nectar bat. Text by Andrea Silen, NGS Staff
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Octopuses are sea animals famous for their rounded bodies, bulging eyes, and eight long arms. They live in all the world’s oceans but are especially abundant in warm, tropical waters. Octopuses, like their cousin, the squid, are often considered “monsters of the deep,” though some species, or types, occupy relatively shallow waters. Most octopuses stay along the ocean’s floor, although some species are pelagic, which means they live near the water’s surface. Other octopus species live in deep, dark waters, rising from below at dawn and dusk to search for food. Crabs, shrimps, and lobsters rank among their favorite foods, though some can attack larger prey, like sharks. Octopuses typically drop down on their prey from above and, using powerful suctions that line their arms, pull the animal into their mouth. The octopus performs its famous backward swim by blasting water through a muscular tube on the body called a siphon. Octopuses also crawl along the ocean’s floor, tucking their arms into small openings to search for food. Seals, whales, and large fish prey on octopuses. If threatened, octopuses shoot an inky fluid that darkens the water, confusing the aggressor. The octopus can also change to gray, brown, pink, blue, or green to blend in with its surroundings. Octopuses may also change color as a way to communicate with other octopuses. Octopuses are solitary creatures that live alone in dens built from rocks, which the octopus moves into place using its powerful arms. Octopuses sometimes even fashion a rock “door” for their den that pulls closed when the octopus is safely inside.
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Polar bears live along shores and on sea ice in the icy cold Arctic. When sea ice forms over the ocean in cold weather, many polar bears, except pregnant females, head out onto the ice to hunt seals. Polar bears primarily eat seals. Polar bears often rest silently at a seal’s breathing hole in the ice, waiting for a seal in the water to surface. A polar bear may also hunt by swimming beneath the ice. But climate change is making it harder for polar bears to hunt. Ice melts earlier and re-forms later than it has in the past. Without the sea ice, the polar bear must scavenge for other, less nutritious food. Polar bears roam the Arctic ice sheets and swim in that region’s coastal waters. They are very strong swimmers, and their large front paws, which they use to paddle, are slightly webbed. Some polar bears have been seen swimming hundreds of miles from land—though they probably cover most of that distance by floating on sheets of ice. In fall pregnant polar bears make dens in earth and snowbanks, where they’ll stay through the winter and give birth to one to three cubs. In spring the mother emerges from her den followed by her cubs. During that time she will protect them and teach them how to hunt. The U.S., Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Russia signed an agreement in 1973 to protect polar bears.
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Adélie penguins breed and raise their young on the continent of Antarctica. In September and October—springtime in that part of the world—thousands of Adélies gather on the rocky Antarctic shoreline. The huge gatherings are called colonies. Adélie penguins build nests by scooping out areas in the ground. The female usually lays two eggs in the nest. Adélie penguin eggs hatch in December. In the Antarctic winter, the Adélie penguins live at sea. Both parents care for the eggs. While one stays behind keeping the eggs warm and safe from predators, the other parent heads out to sea to eat. They feast mainly on krill, tiny shrimplike animals, but also eat fish and squid. Parents take turns caring for their youngsters after they hatch until the chicks are about three weeks old. At that point, both parents may leave to forage for food while the chicks gather in the safety of a large group of other young penguins. These groups of young Adélies are called crèches. By March, when Adélie chicks are about nine weeks old, their downy baby feathers have been replaced by waterproof adult feathers. They plunge into the sea, and start hunting for food on their own. Like other penguin species, Adélies are excellent swimmers. They’re powerful and graceful in the water, with torpedo-shaped bodies that pierce through the water. Their modified wings help propel them through water instead of air. These birds are swimmers, not fliers. Check out the book Penguins vs. Puffins for more about these amazing birds! Watch a YouTube playlist all about penguins.
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Get pictures and fun facts about eight awesome baby animals.
, Minden Pictures This tadpole rides on its dad’s back

Help keep the Earth healthy by ditching single-use plastic items. Make your own Halloween costume instead of buying a store-bought getup. Plastic packaging can wind up in streams and rivers, where it might entangle animals.
in all black and drape the bat wings against your back