One became Six!

Caring for hedgehogs that are pregnant is extremely challenging. It isn't unusual for us to admit a pregnant female, but it is fraught with worry. Even the kindest captivity for a wild animal is stressful and, even in the wild, a stressed hedgehog can abandon or kill their young. So when Fiona was rescued in Burton in Lonsdale, we knew we had to take extra special care of her.

Hedgehog mothers are dedicated and protective. They nurse their young for several weeks and must be left undisturbed. Fiona had five beautiful bouncing hoglets, and she raised them beautifully in a cage away from the hustle and bustle of the main hospital room. Apart from leaving food for her, we let her maintain her own nest and disturbed her as little as possible. During those weeks, she was regularly feeding her babies with her own milk and keeping them clean. She would also have to stimu-late them to urinate and defecate, as they are unable to go to the toilet without this. (When we have orphan hoglets, we have to copy their mother's stimu-lation by gently rubbing their genitals, many times a day!) Hoglets stay with their mother for about six to eight weeks until they are fully weaned and, before we knew it, they were eating wet and dry food and getting ready for their life outside.

To prepare them for release, we gave them a stint in a huge outdoor enclo-sure with hedgehog houses and feed-ing stations. After a while, we released Fiona to where she was rescued from, and we set about fattening up and getting the youngsters ready for their first taste of freedom. All five were released, but one of them has ended up back with us whilst we sort some internal parasites out that he has picked up whilst enjoying his wild life. Fiona was the most perfect mum, with the most gentle face. We hope she goes on to raise many more litters in the wild.

Saving one hedgehog and returning it back to its home territory is very special. But to save one and then release six is incredibly important, when you consider how hedgehog numbers are falling. Hedgehog populations continue to plummet in the UK - from 30 million in the 1950s to just 879,000 today. Every one we can care for, and get back into the wild, helps so much. If you would like to support our hedgehog work by sponsoring one of our patients, please click here. We currently have 57 hogs in our care.

Fiona and her offspring, prior to release