This little leveret had a lucky escape from a festival site last weekend and is now being cared for by Secret World Wildlife Rescue in East Huntspill.
The baby hare was found underneath the stage at NASS Festival, a celebration of street culture that took place in Shepton Mallet.
Luke Small, the leveret’s finder, had just arrived on site with his production team and was checking out the stage during the silent disco when he saw a moving shadow.
Initially thinking it was a baby rabbit, he managed to coax it out from behind the stage wiring and into a box with the help of a colleague.
The animal was found outside of Secret World Wildlife Rescue’s opening hours, and Luke was concerned that the young hare would not survive if it was released as it was “noticeably in shock and delusional.”
Willis – as the leveret was now named – was transferred to a bigger box for the night with a few t-shirts, some food and water, and Luke checked in periodically through the night.
As soon as his alarm went off at 8am, he gave SWWR a call and the charity was able to arrange for one of its volunteers to meet someone from the festival halfway and hand the animal over. Luke and his colleague Ellie were very surprised to learn that it was in fact a leveret, and not a rabbit.
David Plant, Fundraising Manager for the Somerset-based charity, reiterated their call for festival organisers to carry out careful checks for wildlife while setting up, after a pair of orphaned little owls were found under the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury recently.
He told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We’re so grateful to Luke for taking the time to help this poor leveret. Thankfully it was found before the festival kicked off properly on Friday and, as leverets are very sensitive, the loud music may have been too much for it.”
“Willis will need some close monitoring and special care for a while, as leverets are notoriously difficult to rehabilitate. All being well, once stable and we are happy with its progress, the young hare will be released back into the wild.”
See more at https://www.secretworld.org/support-us
