Hedgehog as an Instagram star: animal provides rent from mum

Created: 02/23/2022, 20:33

By: Helena Gries

Talitha Girnus from Wiesbaden and her pet, hedgehog Herbee, who has almost two million fans on Instagram.

© Screenshot Instagram/mr.pokee

After the death of Germany's most famous hedgehog Mr. Pokee in 2019, the story continues.

Talitha Girnus from Wiesbaden is successful with the Instagram hedgehogs.

Hofheim – The little white-bellied hedgehog named Mr. Pokee was probably the most famous hedgehog in Germany.

He had his own Instagram page*, which his owner Talitha Girnus from Wiesbaden regularly populated with cute photos of her little prickly friend, delighting millions of fans and Instagram users.

In 2019, the cute Instagram hedgehog died, and his fans mourned.

But for his mistress Talitha Girnus, the success story was not over yet.

In an interview with the Bild newspaper, the young woman from Hesse* has now revealed how things continued for her after the death of her beloved pet and how she found the successor to Mr. Pokee.

Instagram Hedgehog Mr. Pokee died of a bacterial infection: fans mourn

The popular Instagram hedgehog Mr. Pokee died of a bacterial infection* as a result of dental surgery.

This not only hit his owner hard, the Instagram community that followed Mr. Pokee and that already had over a million followers at the time mourned with her.

The little hedgehog was Talitha Girnus' faithful companion for four years.

In order to have him with her after his death, the woman from Wiesbaden had a tattoo done.

On her wrist she now has a Mr. Pokee lettering with a heart.

But thanks to the networked community, Girnus didn't have to be without hedgehogs for long.

According to the Bild newspaper, a Mr. Pokee fan soon got in touch and reported a "hedgehog problem".

She owned a small white-bellied hedgehog that she couldn't keep due to an allergy, so she suggested giving the animal to Girnus.

The little hedgehog Herbee inspires around two million fans on the social media platform Instagram and thus contributes to the success of its owner.

© Screenshot Instagram/mr.pokee

Hedgehog Herbee as successor to Instagram star Mr. Pokee: Animal even plays in commercials

Mr. Pokee's successor, Herbee*, not only took the heart of his new owner by storm, but also that of the social media community.

The little hedgehog even became a movie star.

In a commercial for road safety, Herbee had to cross a street wearing a small warning vest.

The fans loved it.

Herbee has successfully followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Mr. Pokee on Instagram and now has almost two million fans.

Its owner, who reports from the Bild newspaper, has completed a marketing degree, now earns her money with the Instagram account.

"It's a full-time job and a lot of time goes into editing my photos and videos.

Running the shop also costs me a lot of energy.

That's why it would no longer be possible to take another job at all," the Hessin told the Bild newspaper.

In her own shop, the hedgehog owner sells merchandise to fans full-time.

Video: Net mourns famous Instagram hedgehog Mr. Pokee

Instagram hedgehog from Hesse: Young woman moves away from Wiesbaden for the sake of her animals

In the meantime, the animal family has grown with Talitha Girnus.

In addition to two hedgehogs, the young woman owns five cats.

She even moved away from downtown Wiesbaden for her animals.

As the Bild newspaper reports, Girnus now lives with her partner and the animals in Hofheim near Wiesbaden: "Because I felt the need to be more in nature with them.

It is important to me that I can give my animals the best possible life and that we lack nothing.”

Social media are increasingly determining people's lives.

The extent to which they influence communication in Germany becomes clear when social media platforms are affected by disruptions*.

(Helena Gries)