Hedgehogs in Culture - United States

United States

The common American holiday Groundhog Day originated in Ancient Rome as Hedgehog Day and is still celebrated as such through much of the world. There are no native hedgehogs in the United States, so the early settlers chose the groundhog as a substitute.

Hedgehogs remain largely unseen in modern day American culture. On a number of occasions British educational programs have been revoiced to refer to hedgehogs as porcupines (at least one of such examples being Bob the Builder). The Wacky Wheels video game makes humorous use of hedgehogs as projectiles, and they are also seen reading the newspaper while sitting on the toilet in the middle of the race course.

Two notable exceptions are Sonic the Hedgehog, the video game character created by SEGA, and Russell Ferguson from the animated series Littlest Pet Shop.

May has been designated Hedgehog month by the International Hedgehog Association.

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