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Kippi and friends from Rechov Sumsum
Kippi Ben Kippod lives on Rechov Sumsum, the first Israeli co-production of Sesame Street. Kippi is a full-body character, reminiscent in design of Espinete from Barrio Sésamo. Kippi is cheerful and optimistic, and has a pet goat named Sheba.
Kippi first appeared on Rechov Sumsum in 1983, and he also appeared in the first five episodes of Shalom Sesame, a bilingual 1986 Israel-US co-production.
Kippi also appeared, along with other international Sesame Street Muppets, in the special Sesame Street Stays Up Late.
For Rechov Sumsum/Shara'a Simsim, the Israeli/Palestinian co-production, Kippi, along with Moishe Oofnik, was retained. Kippi was redesigned for the new show, with a more traditional "Muppety" design, and has a male performer, Guy Friedman.
Species
The redesigned version of Kippi seen on Rechov Sumsum/Shara'a Simsim.
For Shalom Sesame, the producers chose to translate "kippod" (קיפוד) as "porcupine", and Kippi refers to himself as "your friendly neighborhood porcupine". Bill Cosby also refers to Kippi as a porcupine in the Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting special.
The translation of קיפוד is actually "hedgehog," according to Milon, a Hebrew-English dictionary. Hedgehogs and porcupines are often confused by laypeople, although they are not part of the same family.
Kippi has a similar design to Espinete from Barrio Sésamo, who is a hedgehog. Additionally, Kippi possesses a long snout like that of a hedgehog, which porcupines lack.