A trio of helpless baby hedgehogs have had a lucky escape after being rescued by Burnham-On-Sea wildlife carers.
A volunteer at Secret World Wildlife Rescue in East Huntspill initially reared the three tiny hedgehogs by hand after they were found abandoned by their mother last month.
Jenny Waring cared for the animals off site to enable her to feed them every few hours and monitor them in the night.
The animal rescue charity was alerted to the vulnerable triplets after they were discovered cowering under a shed by a member of the public in Langford.
The babies were heard crying for their mother who, after a period of observation, appeared to had abandoned them.
As hedgehog numbers in the UK are currently in long-term decline, the survival of these animals was judged to be even more critical by the charity’s animal care experts.
“Winter can be deadly for hedgehogs,” Jenny told Burnham-On-Sea.com. “Without their mother, these tiny animals would have been lucky to survive the night.
“No mother means no protection and no food source. As we’re seeing fewer and fewer hogs compared to 20 or 30 years ago, we’re grateful to have found them before they fell victim to the elements.”
The baby hogs were found uninjured but are too young to feed for themselves.
Hedgehogs typically hibernate through the winter, so this group, now back on site at Secret World, will not be released until they put on enough weight to see them through to the new year.
“We want to give them the best chance of survival when we release them. If they don’t put on enough weight before winter kicks in, we will over-winter them at Hogwarts – our hedgehog hotel at Secret World – until they are ready to be released in the spring,” added Jenny.
Secret World staff has appealed for cat food as their hedgehog intake is expected to quadruple to 200 over the winter months. As the weather gets colder, it becomes harder for hedgehogs to find food.
The charity puts all sick hedgehogs on a diet of meaty cat food in jelly and cat biscuits to help put on weight. All donations will help the charity care for a greater number of hedgehogs throughout the winter.
Dan Bryant, Animal Care Section Leader, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: ”By donating food, you are helping to give these animals a greater chance of getting back to where they belong – the wild.”
Food donations can be dropped off at Secret World (New Road Farm, New Rd, East Huntspill, Highbridge, TA9 3PZ) between 8am and 8pm, seven days a week, or ordered from the charity’s Amazon wish list here.
