Bioacoustics of Hemiechinus collaris

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Indian Long-eared Hedgehog is solitary and unsocial, and it never shares a burrow with conspecifics. It is relatively silent, and the only vocalization known is a snake-like hiss that is emitted when disturbed in its burrow or threatened by a predator. This hiss generally is accompanied by sudden upward jerking of the body that can be a painful experience for a predator. The Indian Long-eared Hedgehog exhibits self-anointing behavior that begins by chewing on vegetable matter, generally grass roots, which produces copious frothy saliva. It then contorts itself so that its muzzle is twisted around to its back and flanks, and the liquid vegetable paste or frothy saliva is plastered onto the skin without injury to the tongue. Self-anointing usually is stimulated by some strong smell. Reasons for this behavior are unknown. Anointing might be a way of grooming otherwise inaccessible skin or helping to remove dried skin because the paste eventually dries and flakes off, or it might be a sexual signal because it occurs only in adults during the breeding season.