A hilarious video showing a hungry hedgehog sticking its head inside a watermelon growing in a woman’s field and ignoring her presence while enjoying the feast went viral after it began making rounds on social media.
The little ‘melon thief’ – nicknamed so by the woman whose field it ate from – was caught eating its way through a ripe watermelon in Hotan, in north-western China’s Xinjiang Region.
In a video filmed by the garden’s owner – surnamed Song – the body of the tiny creature can be seen poking out of one end of the fruit while it had its head dug into it, continuously stuffing its face.
Ms Song was apparently annoyed at first that her crops were being destroyed, and gently taps its back a few times to get it to leave.
But the animal is seemingly too interested in the delicious meal to care about her presence and completely ignores her.
After a while, it peeks outside and turns towards the woman standing right behind and talking to it.
Seeing the woman won’t leave, it almost takes a sad look at all the watermelon that was left uneaten, sniffs around the hole it dug through the fruit and ultimately gives up on the meal.
The video – shared on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok – racked up over 220,000 likes and over 25,000 comments, with amused users saying it was too adorable to be chased away.
Ms Song herself admitted she cannot bring herself to hate the ‘melon thief’ and in the end decided she would let it eat as much as it likes.
She added: “It is close to the desert and there are many wild animals. But this little hedgehog is not as destructive as the wild boar. I decided to let it eat.”
She posted another video that seemingly shows the hedgehog has returned to snack on more watermelon and even brought a friend along.
Still slightly annoyed, Ms Song yelled at them some more before she gave in and let them eat in peace.
Although hedgehogs’ diet more often consists of insects, snails, frogs and snakes – being omnivorous animals, they can also feed on a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
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Story By: Simona Kitanovska, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Asia Wire Report
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