When a new video of Teddy Bear the porcupine hit YouTube recently, featuring the animal squawking like an Ewok while he munched a pumpkin, we couldn't help but fall into a hole of his past videos, catching up on all the cuteness he's been delivering since 2011.
It turns out the porcupine has quite a legion of devoted fans: His owner Allison Blankenship says she receives letters when he hasn't starred in a new video for a while.
"He has quite a demanding fan base," she told TODAY.com. "They write to him if I don't post. They want to know how Teddy is doing — he's got quite a following."
Teddy's high-pitched vocalizations and furious noshing have earned him over 7,700 Facebook fans. Because what's not to love about a critter who talks with his mouth full?
Blankenship, who runs an exotic animal rescue and wildlife education company called Zooniversity, adopted Teddy when he was found as an orphaned baby left in a farmer's barn in west Texas. She brought him home to her animal sanctuary to live with 100 more rescued animals, and says his early interactions with humans left him "fully imprinted" and unable to ever be released back into the wild.
Blakenship says he's chattier than your typical porcupine — probably because he doesn't think he is one. Like a small dog, Teddy lets his keepers tickle his belly and enjoys being chased around.
"North American porcupines all vocalize but Teddy is more talkative than most," she said. "We don’t think he knows he’s a porcupine. He talks to the keepers all the time — we think it's his method of communicating with us."
Teddy's social skills come in handy when he goes on the road with Zoonuniversity to raise money for the organization and educate young people about wildlife. But what really gets the little guy going is food.
"Corn or pumpkin are not standard foods for him, so he's super excited when he gets those," Blankenship said. " He has a very strict diet otherwise."
Take a look at some of our favorite videos of Teddy eating treats:
Teddy speed-eats his corn before moving on to a bouquet of red roses:
And gets a little rowdy on New Year's:
Teddy's also a fan of Christmas biscuits:
Finally, Teddy's first YouTube appearance: