European hedgehog Puns

Germanic English 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿: Sonic the Hedgehog, Nederlands 🇳🇱: Sonic de Egel, Deutsch 🇩🇪🇨🇭🇦🇹🇱🇮: Sonic the Hedgehog, Lëtzebuergesch 🇱🇺: Sonic the Hedgehog, Svenska 🇸🇪: Sonic the Hedgehog/Mange på Momangen, Dansk 🇩🇰: Pindsvinet Sonic, Norsk 🇳🇴: Sonic the Hedgehog, Íslandska 🇮🇸: Sonic the Hedgehog,

Slavic Polski 🇵🇱: Jeż Sonic, Čeština 🇨🇿: Ježek Sonic, Slovenčina 🇸🇰: Ježko Sonic, Русский 🇷🇺: Еж Соник (Yezh Sonic), Українська 🇺🇦: Їжак Сонік (Yizhak Sonic), Беларуская 🇧🇾: Вожык Сонік (Vožyk Sonic), Srbskohrvatski/Српскохрватски 🇷🇸🇭🇷🇧🇦🇲🇪: Jež Sonic/Јеж Соник, Slovenščina 🇸🇮: Jež Sonic, български 🇧🇬: Таралежът Соник (Taralezhulut Sonic), Северномакедонски 🇲🇰: Ежот Соник (Ežot Sonic),

Latin/Roman Latina 🌿🇻🇦: Sonicus Hedgehogius, Français 🇫🇷🇲🇨🇨🇭: Sonic l'Hérisson, Español 🇪🇸: Sonic el Erizo, Català 🇪🇸🇦🇩: L'Eriçó Sonic, Português 🇵🇹: Sonic o Ouriço, Italiano 🇮🇹🇸🇲🇻🇦🇨🇭: Sonic il Riccio, Română 🇷🇴🇲🇩: Sonic Ariciul,

Celtic Gàidhlig 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿: Sonic a ’Ghràineag, Gaeilge 🇮🇪: Sonic an Gráinneog, Cymraeg 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿: Sonic y Draenog,

Uralic Suomi 🇫🇮: Sonic-Siili, Magyar 🇭🇺: Sonic a Sündisznó, Eesti 🇪🇪: Siil Sonic,

Baltic Latviešu 🇱🇻: Ezis Soniks, Lietuvių 🇱🇹: Ežiukas Sonikas,

Turkic Türkçe 🇹🇷: Kirpi Sonic, Azərbaycan 🇦🇿: Kirpi Sonic,

Other Ελληνικά 🇬🇷: Σόνικ ο Σκαντζόχοιρος (Sónik o Skantzóchooiros), ქართული 🇬🇪: ზღარბი სონიკი (Zghabarbi Sonik'i), հայերեն 🇦🇲: Ոզնի Sonic (Vozni Sonic), Euskara 🇪🇸: Sonic Trikua, Shqip 🇦🇱: Sonic the Hedgehog, Malti 🇲🇹: Sonic the Hedgehog

The European Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus, is the only spiny mammal native to the British isles and is in severe decline at the moment, it is also one of the nations most recognised animals. They will be snug and warm in their ‘hibernaculum' at the moment, this being the name for the nest of leaves and moss they will have made for themselves to hibernate in, and will be staying put there until the weather warms up around April.

As with many other species of animals there are a lot of suitable habitats here in the northwest for them with ancient woodlands and hedgerows full of the sorts of foods they like. The diet of the hedgehog being snails, beetles, worms, insect larvae and pretty much any invertebrates they can snaffle up, they will even eat young mice and voles.

Hedgehogs aren’t as fond of slugs as you might think though as the slime they produce when distressed can cause problems for hedgehogs, gunging up their nostrils, mouth and eyes, so they tend to be desperately hungry before they will eat slugs. When they emerge in spring they will also sniff out the nests of any ground nesting birds and eat their eggs too although most species of ground nesting birds are found on the open fells and fields.

The fells and uplands of Bowland are not favourable places for hedgehogs, possibly because there isn’t enough cover or food for them up there, possibly because it’s too damp and boggy, but most cyclists, myself included, will have seen them squashed on surprisingly open roads miles away from trees, I’ve seen them on the top of waddington fell and the Cross of Greet at the top cattle grid. Cattle grids can literally be a death trap for them and most will have a rampin them to help them climb out, farmers will routinely check these are in place or replace them as, like most British people, they have a fondness for hedgehogs, but also understand their usefulness as contr

I have a simple question, that likely does not have a simple answer.

Hedgehogs are rather bold as far as wild animals are considered. They go where they want, and when they encounter another animal they don’t really run. They rely on their spines to be a (rather formidable) defense. Problem is spines aren’t a formidable defense when a foraging human can just pick the hedgehog up and carry it home to butcher it.

So my question stands: If some of the various cultures of Europe regularly ate hedgehog, who did? Why has the practice not survived to the present day as guinea pig cultivation has in Peru? If eating hedgehog was frowned upon, why?

Thanks for any help!

The European Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus, is the only spiny mammal native to the British isles and is in severe decline at the moment, it is also one of the nations most recognised animals. They will be snug and warm in their ‘hibernaculum' at the moment, this being the name for the nest of leaves and moss they will have made for themselves to hibernate in, and will be staying put there until the weather warms up around April.

As with many other species of animals there are a lot of suitable habitats here in the northwest for them with ancient woodlands and hedgerows full of the sorts of foods they like. The diet of the hedgehog being snails, beetles, worms, insect larvae and pretty much any invertebrates they can snaffle up, they will even eat young mice and voles.

Hedgehogs aren’t as fond of slugs as you might think though as the slime they produce when distressed can cause problems for hedgehogs, gunging up their nostrils, mouth and eyes, so they tend to be desperately hungry before they will eat slugs. When they emerge in spring they will also sniff out the nests of any ground nesting birds and eat their eggs too although most species of ground nesting birds are found on the open fells and fields.

The fells and uplands of Bowland are not favourable places for hedgehogs, possibly because there isn’t enough cover or food for them up there, possibly because it’s too damp and boggy, but most cyclists, myself included, will have seen them squashed on surprisingly open roads miles away from trees, I’ve seen them on the top of waddington fell and the Cross of Greet at the top cattle grid. Cattle grids can literally be a death trap for them and most will have a rampin them to help them climb out, farmers will routinely check these are in place or replace them as, like most British people, they have a fondness for hedgehogs, but also understand their usefulness as contr