The Dangerous Hedgehog (or "The Slightly Scared Photographer")

As I was closing the curtains on Friday night I noticed a hedgehog walking by. If hedgehogs could whistle I imagine it would have been whistling, it looked like it was in one of those kinds of moods. So I went out to say “Hello” and it stopped, so I immediately began to think of all the defensive strategies a hedgehog has up its sleeve. Obviously it has its spikes and that but did it have stuff I didn't know about?

The duckbill platypus is venomous, which is very weird for a mammal. The venom is powerful enough to kill smaller animals such as dogs, but it is not lethal to humans, however the pain is so excruciating that the victim may be incapacitated. And this information is relatively new!

I wasn’t in the mood to be incapacitated by anything, never mind a hedgehog. And with a platyplus at least if it went for you you could grab it by the tail and throw it against a wall, if you try that with a hedgehog you’re gonna spike your hand aren’t you? And hedgehogs have teeth! So my main concern was could the hedgehog leap, or come at me quickly?

I’m aware that I will never make a Steve Backshall or even a David Attenborough, however I did take a photo of it on my phone. (And I lived to tell the tale!)

"The Hedgehog"