N. America S. America Madagascar Hedgehog Tenrec echinops telfairi Range South and southwest Madagascar. Habitat Dry forests, scrub, cultivated land, dry coastal regions and semi-deserts. A small, stout-bodied animal with a very small tail, barely visible. The back is completely covered with defensive spines which are most often black at the tip and dark gray to light brown at the base.
Individuals range from near white to almost black.
The limbs are of moderate length and the ears are prominent. While active at night, the tenrec is not strictly nocturnal. In the daytime it rests under a log or in a hollow tree. The tenrec is usually solitary except for a mother with her young. Males in captivity avoid each other, but opposite sexes sleep alongside one another.