Hedgehog, Spirit Animal
My spirit animal for 2018 is the hedgehog. This is not new. I own the cutest collection of hedgehogs ever, which isn’t hard because hedgehogs are fundamentally cute. My focus on hedgehogs is, let’s say, resurrected. And this love will be incorporated into my Mardi Gras costume.
Thus, in preparation and general betterment of the world, I offer you Hedgehog Facts.
Hedgehogs have changed little in the last 15 million years. They are a distant relative of the shrew. They shed their spines when under extreme stress.
Hedgehogs are not rodents. The species native to the Americas is extinct. They sleep during the day and wake at night to waddle around. A group of hedgehogs is called a prickle. Ferrets eat them. They can hibernate if their tummies are full enough. If they do hibernate, their body temperature drops to 36 degrees. They get cold as hell. They grunt like a pig.
Hedgehogs talk a lot. Like honey badgers, they are immune from snake bites. They eat frogs and watermelon and other things. They live long because they control their diet. They give humans ringworm. People ate hedgehogs in the Medieval ages, the barbarians.
Hedgehogs sleep rolled up in a ball.
Their ears are huge.
They like to live alone.
They bite.
Their babies are called hoglets.
Hoglets whistle to find their moms.
Adult hedgehogs squeal when excited.
Hedgehogs are shy, hidden creatures. You will have to look closely to see my “Homage to Hedgehog” on my Mardi Gras outfit, but now you know what to look for.
Luanne
So they are Harry Potterish animals, I guess. I didn’t know one could have a spirit animal for the year. I thought once you had one it was forever. This opens my horizons!!
Ellen Morris Prewitt
Annual spirit animal is sort of my mashup of New Year’s resolution and the Chinese New Year. 🙂 I’m all about new beginnings.
hilarycustancegreen
I can’t open the images, but I love hedgehogs. We have real live ones in our garden and we feed them (special hedgehog food only).
Ellen Morris Prewitt
You have live hedgehogs in your yard!!! I’m wondering what ingredients might go into special hedgehog food? I bet your hedgehogs live a long time and spread tales about the Garden of Eden they’ve found. 🙂
Ellen Morris Prewitt
ps One image is of my hedgehog nailbrush and dental floss dispenser; the other is hedgehogs hiding on my home altar
joe Hawes
You are anything but a hedgehog;still they offer us some ideas about how to survive in this crazy world. I don’t want to push this argument too far, though. It might lead to cockroaches as spiritual animals…
Ellen Morris Prewitt
🙂 Ha, ha, cockroaches as a spirit animal!