Today's contender for Most British Headline of the Year. It's not the first Guardian article featuring hedgehogs this year so far. Or the first 2024 UK hedgehog story to make it to the Blue. It's not even the best hedgehog news to come out recently.

They take their hedgehogs very seriously in this country. They have their own preservation society and you can buy specialist food for them in pet shops and grocery stores. You can install a hedgehog hotel on whatever land you have access to, or participate in various hedgehog-tracking efforts. Of course, our spiky friends are not limited to these green and pleasant shores. The Germans have elected the hedgehog animal of the year, while in China there's a whole new species of 'hog to get excited about. Even the Ancient Greeks knew a thing or two about the wisdom of the hedge: "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing."