Category Archives: Front page top

Pig – A rescue story

Posted on by

Holly used to enjoy a cuddle with the staff 🙂

Holly was found cold and injured at the side of a road. Where she came from is a bit of a mystery but she is lucky to be alive!
She was brought to us by a member of the public and over the weeks that followed it was touch and go. Her tiny tummy was upset and wouldn't allow her to keep all the food down. She suffered from pneumonia and she had some cuts and bruises.
I will never forget when I got the "all clear" text from Lyz. "I think she will be alright. Just look at her!" she said. The picture she sent showed a piglet with what I can only describe as a cheeky smile on her face!

Today? Well, today she is no longer that little girl. Instead, she is the same size as a little pony 🙂

When Holly first came to us we created an appeal to help us with the costs of her treatments and special food. Without the help, we received we would have struggled. Always try to keep an eye on the emergency appeals we put up as they do save lives!

 

Hedgehog – a rescue story

Posted on by

HEDGEHOGS

Hedgehogs are funny little creatures and truly wild at heart.
Every year we rescue many 100s of them to then release them back into the wild as soon as possible. You can often tell what season it is just by looking at the reasons they come to us: more strimmer and tool injuries in the spring and early summer, burn injuries from bonfires in late summer, and hoglets too small to hibernate in late autumn and at the start of winter.

Most years we will have between 100 and 250 overwintering with us at the Sanctuary and with foster carers. To successfully survive a long winter’s sleep they need to weigh around 600 grams or be the size of a grapefruit when curled up. This is because they won't have enough fat reserves to see them through the winter if not.

Hedgehogs often have a second litter late in the season and as these usually don’t have enough time to build up those important fat reserves, they end up in rescue centers to be released in the spring. If you find a hedgehog out during daytime or a baby hedgehog late in autumn, it usually needs to be picked up, secured in a box with a hot water bottle or similar, and brought to your nearest rescue center. If you are in doubt, just call and ask for advice! You will find more information under "I found an animal...."

One of the many rescue stories we want to share with you started with a phone call from a lady. She found a hedgehog stuck inside a watering can she had left outside in her garden. As it was tipped on its side, this hedgehog squeezed in only to find himself stuck. The lady found him a few days later and he then had hypothermia as he was sitting in about 1 inch of water. Luckily for this little hog, after being released from his watery prison and warmed up a bit he made a full recovery and was released a few weeks later.

The lesson here is to always look at your garden through an animal’s point of view; a watering-can might look tempting for a curious little hog!

Hare – A rescue story

Posted on by

It was a beautiful, warm spring day when the two ladies phoned us from Reepham. They had found a tiny little hare by the side of a field. Luckily Lyz was close by and she rushed over just to find a 12 – 14-day old leveret (baby hare). Apart from a few small injuries he seemed ok but very cold.

Lyz went back to her van and put the heating on full. Sitting there sweating like mad the baby was slowly warming up.

It is a common mistake to think that just because the weather is warm nothing can be cold, instead it is common for baby animals and birds to die due to hypothermia even in the summer. In general, babies need their mothers and just because it is warm for us it doesn’t mean that it is warm for them.

This story ended well and the little leveret survived and was later released close to our horse field. A sunny day he was seen teamed up with a local hare girl and we are sure that they went on to live happily ever after. 🙂

Fox – A rescue story

Posted on by

Ferdinand came to us as an imprinted youngster a few years back and is now a permanent resident at the Sanctuary. As much as we strive to release animals back to the wild sometimes it is just not possible and this was one of those cases.

A lovely lady was walking her dog when she found a fox laying next to a field.
She could see no movement so decided to investigate a bit closer. Sadly the little fox had just died but she could tell that it was a female as the fox was lactating. She quickly walked over to the nearby farm to see if the farmers knew where the fox den was and the lady was given a reply, although not a very polite one!
After a while, he agreed to tell her where the fox cub was as long as she “made it disappear” and so she did; she brought it home and hand-reared him. Sadly, as often happens when people with no experience try to save wildlife themselves instead of involving a rescue, this little fox became so used to humans and food on a plate that he was more of a dog than a wild animal.
Ferdinand spent the first year of his life with the lady but after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer Hallswood was contacted. When Lyz walked into the living room there she found a lovely fox sitting in the settee next to his dog pal watching Jeremy Kyle on tv!

If you find wildlife in need of help please always contact a local animal rescue. We have the experience, the facilities and the medication to give them the best chance of a full recovery and then release back to where they belong.

Badger – A rescue story

Posted on by


Picture this:
You are a mechanic, it is early in the morning and not quite awake yet you are sipping on that first coffee. Looking at the list of “to do’s” of the day you catch a glimpse of something in the inspection trench.

Moving.
Fast.
What the.......
A badger.
A fully grown male badger.
Right...

So what would you do?
Well, this mechanic called Lyz.

As you can imagine Lyz knows a thing or two about animals by now and there is not much she hasn’t seen or done before but this was a new one.
A very scared and angry badger trapped 5 ft below without any easy way out.

Long story short – With a lot of patience and creativity this “little” boy was rescued after two hours. A rescue involving a covered dog crate, dog catch poles and time 🙂

Some people will argue that badgers are not needed and that they should not be rescued however I think you know our views. Nature needs balance and we need all kinds of creatures to make that happen.

Disclaimer - The badger in the picture is not the badger in the story 😉

Water for wildlife – Wildlife gardening

Posted on by

Let there be WATER!

Water is literally a lifesaver and contrary to popular belief, it is essential to help wildlife with this basic need all year round.
We often see and hear people encourage you to provide water during the hottest day of the year but what about during that long dry spell in June or those freezing days in January?

The obvious thing people think about is a pond but you don't have to go that big to be able to help! A shallow dish with water kept topped up, will do nicely.
Things to think about are:
*Keeping it clean
*Keeping it safe with escape routes for tiny creatures
*Keeping it ice-free in the winter (but do not add salt or de-icer please. Just break the ice)
*Try putting it in a safe spot where smaller birds fell secure

It is as simple as that really 🙂

We would love to see how you provide water in your gardens, green space or balconies! Pop a comment on this post with your best tip and/or picture!