Sonic boom: Man uses hedgehog as a weapon

by Justin McElroy { Apr 7th 2008 at 7:30PM }

As children, we remember being horribly disappointed the first time we saw a hedgehog in real life. Where was the cobalt blue fur? The shoes? The Jaleel White-fueled attitude? Well, we learned today that hedgehogs share at least one characteristic with their video game counterpart: If one comes at your full speed, it's going to wreck your shop.

The object lesson comes from New Zealand where 27-year-old William Singalargh chucked a hedgehog at a 15-year-old boy (in a rage, we're assuming, after being on the losing end of one too many games of Hedgehog Golf). The kid was left with "a large, red welt and several puncture marks" and the faux-Sonic got a free trip to hedgehog heaven. Here's hoping he gets reincarnated as a porcupine.

[Thanks, Dan]

Tags: sonic

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Ninjakamster @ Apr 7th 2008 7:34PM

Man, what did the cute hedgehog do to deserve that? RIP.
: (

Ryuukuro @ Apr 7th 2008 8:44PM

Exactly. There's no reason or excuse for killing defenseless animals...unless they're tasty.

Seriously, this is why I'm glad there are animal cruelty laws because they put wackos behind bars far away from me. The poor little hedgehog didn't deserve to die anyway.

JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Apr 7th 2008 9:12PM

As cute as it is, you guys are a lot more worried about the hedgehog than the boy...

The Irony of Animal Cruelty Laws...remember Tomb Raider controversies? (Hint:It's okay to kill a bunch of people as long as tigers stay unharmed)

Kon @ Apr 7th 2008 9:28PM

Hmm... a welt and a few puncture marks vs. being dead. Who deserves more of the sympathy...

Saria the Cat @ Apr 7th 2008 10:16PM

Stories like this make me mad. Just like the one recently about the two drunk guys pissing off the tiger, which proceeded to maul them. One guy died, and the zookeepers killed the tiger because it was deemed a "threat." The thing is, the tiger was ALWAYS a threat---it's a freaking tiger. In what way did the tiger act inappropriately in that context? People need to not be dumb.

bluesky_v2.01 @ Apr 7th 2008 7:36PM

What are you talking about? Disappointed?
Look at that thing, it's just a ball of awesome!

rdj75 @ Apr 7th 2008 7:38PM

That really sucks for the hedgehog, talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

What the Frack?! @ Apr 7th 2008 7:42PM

That makes me sad.

Logic Bus @ Apr 7th 2008 7:45PM

Justin,

Can I get a Brush with Fame for suggesting this story?

Shmil (Brawl Code 2621-2310-1994) @ Apr 7th 2008 7:49PM

Now I'm no PETA fan, but this makes me sick. I don't think there's anything that would make me chuck a small animal at someone else, where there no rocks around or something?

Shmil (Brawl Code 2621-2310-1994) @ Apr 7th 2008 7:57PM

*were

Mr.ESC @ Apr 7th 2008 7:59PM

You don't have to be a PETA activist; I think this is wrong for anyone with values.

theturtle363 @ Apr 7th 2008 7:52PM

How did he find it? Was he carrying it around just in case he needed it? Are hedgehogs just wandering the streets of new zealand in quantities large enough to easily pluck one off the street?

Poisoned Al @ Apr 7th 2008 8:11PM

They are probably regarded as pests over there. In the past, a lot of dip-shit colonial farmers would import things like hedgehogs and cane toads to deal with pests eating their crops. Of course the first thing the imported animals did was eat everything BUT the pests, because the ecosystem wasn't geared to dealing with this new animal which then ran riot. I know on some islands hedgehogs are killed on sight because they aren't native and kill all of the ground nesting birds.

Sam @ Apr 7th 2008 10:45PM

Hedgehogs are fairly common here but are not usually regarded as pests. Most suburban areas will have them and they come out at night to eat worms/snails/insects. Some people even put out saucers of milk for them.
From what I gather in this case the hedgehog was probably already dead before it was thrown, they are the most common form of roadkill in populated areas so it is not unlikely.

Kevin @ Apr 7th 2008 11:47PM

As Sam said, they're fairly common and not generally regarded as pests, although they are a little; I have found one, at least once in my life time, getting into a plastic bag of rubbish at my house. They probably are technically pests, but most people seem to like them.

And the roadkill thing is very true. I saw one dead on a road just last week. (Seems to be a bit of road kill around my small city city though...)

But the NZ weapon of choice should be the kiwi, not the hedgehog, as its long beak could easy wound someone.

(I am of course kidding :P Animal cruelty is wrong and can be a sign of future psychopathic behviour and, unlike the hedgehog, the kiwi is a protected bird, so DO NOT take my words about the kiwi as advice.)

Mr.ESC @ Apr 7th 2008 7:58PM

F*cking Robotnick!

(Seriously, this is sad. I hope the guy who killed this poor animal gets sodomized to death)

Wubbytoes @ Apr 7th 2008 8:03PM

That poor fella.

baby sea tuna @ Apr 7th 2008 8:04PM

Poor lil guy. :(

Shmil (Brawl Code 2621-2310-1994) @ Apr 7th 2008 8:07PM

Well the article says that they could not determine whether the hedgehog was alive prior to the throw, so at least I can hope it was already dead.

I don't mean to make light of this possible act of animal cruelty but I can't stop thinking about the rat-flail
http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=110

Mr.ESC @ Apr 7th 2008 8:24PM

Dude you are sick.

Also a rat flail isn't a rat flail if you use a hedgehog. You can make a flail out of the hedgehog but a sea spine is way better, you can do toxic damage with it.

I would also like to point out that the only reason this is here is because joystiq thought it would be funny to do a Sonic pun ¬¬

JakubK666 (Ninja Defence Force) @ Apr 7th 2008 9:18PM

Continuation to the Rat Flail arc...RAT BANKAI! Kudos to all bleach fans.

http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=225

Shmil (Brawl Code 2621-2310-1994) @ Apr 8th 2008 1:14AM

well i was either going to mention the rat-flail, or i was going to say "needs more sticky tape" but i thought more people would get the vgcats reference than the "alone in the dark" tech demo

snarfoogle @ Apr 7th 2008 8:09PM

Thank you Joystiq for providing us with old, slightly video game related news!

Justin McElroy @ Apr 7th 2008 8:19PM

This was such a waste of my valuable time that I'm going to take the time to let someone know!

typetypetypetypetypetypetypetypetypetype[cry]typetypetypetypetype

snarfoogle @ Apr 7th 2008 8:27PM

Just because I have no life does not make old, slightly video game related news relevant.

Mr.ESC @ Apr 7th 2008 8:31PM

Oh no u didunt!

[I don't know if this is old or if it even counts as news anywhere but slightly related? is not related to videogames at all.In all the cases in existant about X person using Y thing as a weapon this is one of the worst.One of the best was when a guy used an avocado to pretend he had a grenade,that was great]

Saria the Cat @ Apr 7th 2008 10:22PM

Yeah, I mean, we all have time to read every single news source all the time at the same time, so screw people who are trying to tell us something cool! Those bastards...

BlaqueBeird @ Apr 8th 2008 3:29AM

Maybe I missed something, but I'm almost positive that reading this is at no cost to you but your time, which you have control over, so if you feel your time was wasted, it's your own fault.

Poisoned Al @ Apr 7th 2008 8:15PM

I hope the kid had his shots. Hedgehogs are really crabby, flea infested things.

LeChuck @ Apr 7th 2008 8:15PM

Wow, that Sonic Unleashed really does have NEXT-GEN GRAPHIKZ!!

Phoenix @ Apr 7th 2008 8:20PM

I'm am both confused and slightly distressed by this news.

freelance @ Apr 7th 2008 8:21PM

Sonic Boom! I get it. LOL

Jacob @ Apr 7th 2008 8:46PM

All jokes aside, I really can't believe that you put this up. Honestly, it's sickening. I had a hedgehog, and before he died last summer of cancer, all he'd wanna do was run around and be held...not hurtled.

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Apr 7th 2008 8:55PM

he got mad.....so he chucked a hedgehog at him?.....that's so gangster.

poor hedgehog though.

vegi-saurus @ Apr 7th 2008 9:03PM

Not cool. I hope a giant picks up that idiot and hurl him.

ApolloIV @ Apr 7th 2008 9:29PM

Next time...

Real life Falcon used in an Iconic gaming shout of violence.

Gurei @ Apr 7th 2008 10:02PM

LOL that hedgehog LOL LOL.
Seriously the visual mind image of these happening"some dude literaly trowing these thing to the kids face" is just priceles.

Now lets wait for politicians to find a way of blaming these to videogames .
(Man kils animal and hurts kid in brutal ways,says he learn it from sonic games.)

Master Bruce @ Apr 7th 2008 10:11PM

Did the hedgehog explode in a shower of gold rings?

Poisoned Al @ Apr 7th 2008 10:29PM

More likely a shower of bloated ticks that popped on impact.

TheOverlord#2(Toon Link FTW)(1461-5875-9923) @ Apr 7th 2008 10:15PM

That's sad. RIP Real life Sonic the Hedgehog.

Also, if the guy is guilty, he goes to jail for (up to)5 years.

xdrewfacex @ Apr 7th 2008 10:30PM

...

that's horrible

Batzarro @ Apr 7th 2008 11:20PM

No more Sonic Adventures for you, little buddy. It's Sonic Underground from now on...

Question, though: Didn't the pitcher prick his hand throwing? I mean, if the hedgehog were alive before being thrown, he might have reacted to the momentum. Then again, I know little about hedgehogs.

AzaMcWazza @ Apr 7th 2008 11:43PM

What a fucking cock. Hope someone finds him and chucks him....at an oncoming bus.

MadHaTtEr365 @ Apr 7th 2008 11:48PM

That poor hedgehog! I love hedgehogs! Great pets, who would throw one (alive or deceased) at a child should be stoned to death with cacti (or just shot). Although it's sad, the pic is pretty funny. I WANT ME A BLUE HEDGEHOGZZZ!

Oh BTW...

Hey you, Poisoned Al, go home ya emotionless troll! You keep goin' on about how hedgehogs are little pests, this isn't a "I hate ___" board. Go to an animal racism site! Since those don't exist, go mess with that tiger mentioned by Saria.