In recent weeks, Athena School has been extremely lucky to house two young hedgehogs, who we have fondly named Sticklebrick and Velcro! Did you know that a baby hedgehog is known as a hoglet? How adorable is that?!
Wild Things Rescue, in Lincolnshire, specialises in the ethical rehabilitation of British wildlife. This means that they look after wild animals and nurse them back to health in order to be able to release them back into the wild. They are a charity, and require donations in order to carry out their important work. Charitable donations from the public go towards veterinary bills, proper food and appropriate housing. You can donate directly to their paypal, or you can even buy some beautiful wild animal prints from their online shop. Check out their website to find out more: wildthingsrescue.uk
They are currently fundraising to build a wildlife hospital in Lincolnshire! They currently have two large walk-in kennels, in order to house larger animals, such as birds of prey or geese. They also have two brand new incubators and smaller houses for littler animals, such as hedgehogs.
Our aim with Sticklebrick and Velcro was to get them to the optimum weight, so that they can be released into the wild, to live their happy, free lives with other hedgehogs. According to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, hedgehogs should weigh at least 500g before they can be released.
We have been lucky enough to have these little guys for the past two weeks and have been helping in their rehabilitation journey.
Whenever pupils have handled the hedgehogs, they have handled them with care and safety, wearing the correct protective gear, including gloves and aprons. We have been extremely careful with them, as hedgehogs are quite timid creatures. They enjoy sleeping during the day and burrowing into the bedding we gave them - they like warm, dark spaces. Did you know hedgehogs are omnivores? This means that they eat plants and meat. We used special hedgehog food for them, to make sure they were eating enough.
We were very pleased to receive some positive feedback from Lucy, from Wild Things Rescue, and as our hoglets are now at the optimum weight for survival in the wild, they have been released back into the wild! We were very sad to see our little friends go, but are so happy and grateful to have had the opportunity to help them. It has been a great experience for us at Athena, and we hope that we will get the opportunity to do something like this again in the future!
Check out the photographs of our little buddies!