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| Image borrowed from The Telegraph! |
We often catch a glimpse of some of the hedgehogs which roam our gardens and the woodland at night. They are surprisingly noisy little critters and certainly have quite a turn of speed. I love having them around the place.
Yesterday I noticed a small heap of leaves piled up near the entrance to the woodland - the leaves appeared to gently rise and fall - inside was a hedgehog. A tiny little chap, who remained fast asleep even when I lifted him up and weighed him on my kitchen scales - a mere 248g - and he needs to be at least 600g if he is to survive hibernation.
Time to call Hedgehog Care for advice!
I explained the situation and Elaine, the amazing human dynamo who runs the hedgehog hospital, advised me to take the little creature to her immediately, or he would surely die.
Elaine gave him the once over and said that he was very cold and had lots of fly eggs on him. She immediately set to work plucking and snipping them out because as he begins to warm up they will develop into maggots.
Once clear of them he will have an injection of antibiotic and will gradually be warmed, which should then stimulate his appetite. He'll need a lot of care and very regular feeding and will be in intensive care for a while.
We agreed on the name 'Apple' for this little hoglet. Fingers crossed that he makes it.
Elaine has been running Hedgehog Care for well over thirty years, she cares for over a thousand hedgehogs each year - all the more remarkable when you learn that she is over 75 years old and works around the clock caring for the underweight hedgehogs, the sick ones and the injured ones. She relies on her pension and donations.
Because she is beginning to feel her age she has cut back on her workload - she only takes telephone calls from 7am until 10pm....!
I feel some fundraising coming on. I left a donation, but Apple and the hundreds of others in her care need food, medication, heat, and lots of tlc.
If Apple makes it through the winter, he'll come back to Parsonage Cottage in the Spring. Otherwise we'll take on another youngster which needs a good home.
Hang on in there, Apple.
oh that's so sweet and sad! I must go donate. We swerve a hedgehog last weekend. Hope you're feeling better x
ReplyDeleteHi Dom, I have passed the Hedgehog Care sign so many times over the last ten years. I was so grateful to have someone with the knowledge and skills to give that little hoglet his best chance of survival. Have you ever visited the hedgehog hospital?
DeleteI'm fighting back from the virus although we had to park at the bottom of Lincoln hill, for the first time ever, I just knew I wouldn't have made the walk back up Steep Hill. Scary!
I'm so glad to hear that you found the little hedgehog and knew that it was in trouble. How wonderful that you had someone who shares your loving concern and can help the poor little thing. I'm fortunate as well because there is a Wildlife Rehab Center near my home. I've had to take several birds and animals to them over the years. It's such a great comfort to know someone can help! Does your hedgehog lady have a blog?
ReplyDeleteHello Ms Sparrow, As far as I know, she doesn't have a blog. However, her website is very interesting and includes a short film starring Elaine herself : http://www.hedgehogcare.org.uk as she talks about her work with these wonderful animals. You are absolutely right, the relief of knowing that little Apple was going to receive the best possible care was immense. I will keep you posted.
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