Hart Wildlife Rescue
Quieter Times
Following the annual onslaught of young hedgehogs in autumn, January and February are traditionally fairly quiet for HART Wildlife Rescue. With far fewer admissions this is usually an opportune time to do all those jobs that get missed when things are so busy.
This means cleaning out the food and bedding stores, checking the equipment, repairing hutches and the aviaries. All of which depend on a few days of dry, bright weather.
This year so far has been absolutely hopeless. It has been an uphill struggle against wind and rain just to clean out the animal housing daily. It has been a nightmare to persuade sheets of newspaper and bundles of straw into cages rather than to take off into space.
“We are still caring for several hedgehogs inside the units and outside in hutches, and more than 30 are being cared for by fosterers,” said June Gibbs.
“In recent months we have taken in a few birds, among them a Canada Goose, a couple of blackbirds, an owl, a pheasant and a crow. The poor crow had been found in the early hours of the morning frozen to the grass in a garden in Wolverton, but he survived unscathed.
June is always surprised at the lengths some people will go to to help the hedgehogs that visit their gardens, but this month’s prize goes to a lady in Basingstoke who erected a tent and put in a duvet for her favourite visitors!
Here’s hoping that we’ll soon see an improvement in the weather so that we can prepare for the release of all the hogs and the inevitable arrival of all those spring babies.
If you find a wildlife casualty and need help please ring 01256 770438 or see our web site www.hartwildlife.org.uk
.jpg)
