h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ewwww, Grose.
and I bet they taste nothing like chicken anyway.

Are you referring to hedgehog crisps? (See http://www.h2g2.com/F615?thread=66862&post=495651) As to seeing hedgehogs, just go camping anywhere in Europe and leave your rubbish bag on the ground, open, overnight. They soon come snuffling along. It's just a case of bothering to get up and look at them. Because of their prickles they are not at all shy, they can hurt anyone. Don't touch them, they are full of fleas and God knows what in amongst those prickles. One night on a camp site in the South of France I did get up. The stupid creature had crawled right into our garbage bag. So I picked up the whole bag and laid it near the dustbins, to give the Hedgehog a chance to crawl away again. Must have weighed about 6 lb. They do proverbially make a helluva din copulating, though - would make some men jealous, being able to get that much noise out of their mate - I bet. They also make a racket eating. They will push a saucer of cat food around the patio and snort and snuffle and grunt. You certainly know they're there. We have had summers where we have had them in the garden. Every night when you came home late, you could see it in the headlights. It would freeze for a while, then run off into the bushes. Unfortunately we have a pit in our garage which had very ill-fitting boards covering it. The previous owner did his own oil changes and car maintenance, I assume. Anyway, the hedgehog must have fallen into it and we discovered it down there dead, some months later, when looking for a tennis ball. We now have better fitting boards over the hole, but haven't had a hedgehog since. Don't forget they hibernate. So never set fire to piles of leaves or twigs without turning them over or moving them first.

Very informative!
Very interesting!

Don't worry about the fleas, though.
They are hedgehog fleas and will not jump off onto a human - Just as human fleas would not jump onto a hedgehog.

Don't ask me why dog/cat fleas will jump onto a human - maybe another researcher can tell us.

BTW
NO I DO NOT HAVE FLEAS!!!!!

In my (humble) opinion the best footage available for the furtive hedgehog is to be found in the 'holy' episode (series 2 ,episode 5) where he can be seen cavorting with his friends - 'spudgun', 'eddie' and 'ritchie' during christmas festivities.
Big Joe

I've believe that the correct procedure for cooking hedgehog is to drop it into wet clay and cook this over an open fire. When the clay hardens the hedgehog is ready (I think I saw this on Delia Smith's 'How to Cook' programme)

In one of my more drunken moments at University we came to the conclusion that Hedgehogs live in the sky. A bit like clouds. When they got too wet they would fall out of the sky, either landing in a soft field or garden, where they would shuffle about in a surprised manner, or onto a hard road, where they went splat. A vet helped me with this, so it must be true

Are you quite sure that it was the alcohol that brought you to this conclusion or was it something that was slipped into the alcohol ?

What, like a haedgehog? I'm sure I would have noticed

What, like a hedgehog? I'm sure I would have noticed

Now that WAS clever of me!

Yeah, something like that. i think the Idea is that when you split the clay open, all of the prickles come off with it.

As a lover of hedgehogs (not literally - ouch), I feel that it is my duty to go off and be sick now.

Duncan !8 ' )

Oh absolutely! I'm a member of the RSPCA and although I know how to cook a hedgehog I would never eat one myself - the poor little fellows!

Is this some sort of arcane animal from norse mytholygy, mytrhology mytholigy, Legend? Like a Wyrm? What magical powers would it have?
hmm...

Duncan !8 ' )

Do you mean, WYVERN?

It would have the magical ability to look mildly surprised, snuffle intelligently and smite unruly Vikings by dropping out of the sky on them. Most likely

Like a Norse version of a Chimera, eh?

What's even better is they come with ready made toothpicks.
Only kidding!

Not at all. I mean Wyrm as in Worm (admittedly a very big one)as in Dragon. By your name I assume you've read tolkien (or just watched too much 'friends'?)and I think that in some places people refer to Smaug and some other dragons as Wyrms?? I think when you spell things with a Y they're supposed to have some sort of magical meaning like in macbeth where the witches are referred to as the Wyrd sisters (hence the Pratchett book of the same name).

By the way what is a Wyvern? I always thought it was like a cross between a Dragon and a Giant eagle, something like a Draconic Griffin.

Hang on, what am I saying, I'm actually in the middle from a massive online encyclopedia, I'll check it out.

Dunc !8 ' )

Hmm, no guide entries on Wyverns, I sense an opening, feel like helpingh me research it?

Dunc !8 ' )

Bronze Hedgehog, I can't believe you have never seen a hedgehog - until recently, I lived in Yanworth (a few miles from Windrush) and would see them EVERY night in the Summer, we even found a nest with baby hedgehogs. They are abundant in the Cotswolds and can be seen in most country gardens shortly after dark.

(However, with a name like mine, I shouldn't go looking for them!!)