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The Badger Cub Story
Photo: G. Bradley
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Do you remember how dry it was in the summer of 2005? Apart from a few extreme downpours of rain in the north, the ground was hard baked. Badgers were having a tough time finding food. The bulk of their diet is made up of earthworms, and if the ground is too hard they're unable to dig for them.
It was around this time that Folly Wildlife Rescue took delivery of a badger cub. He was in such a poor condition he had to be rushed straight to the vets. He weighed just 1.9kg and was caked in fly eggs. His temperature was so low that it wouldn't register, and he desperately needed to be
rehydrated.
When the vet tried to put him on a drip it was found his veins were so collapsed that they couldn't get the line in. Instead, they injected it directly into his stomach. Large amounts of hair had to be cut away to remove the fly eggs. Things didn’t look good for him.
Amazingly, just three hours later he was up and running around his pen, and ready to be collected.
On his fist night back at Folly he was left with a bowl of rehydration fluid and some light food. He was already looking much brighter.
He had a number of raw places where the fly larvae had got to work, but these were all clearing, and he seemed a lot fitter. He was feeding very well, and frequently came to the front of his pen to watch the activity at the centre. He was obviously settling in.
Over the next three weeks he made amazing progress, and his weight shot up to nearly 4kg. He was given a TB test which proved negative, and all his blood levels were nearly normal. By late July he was getting very restless, and was fit enough to be taken to Secret World to join a release group there.
Folly wildlife rescue is an incredibly busy wildlife rescue centre in south east England.
In 2005 they handled around 3,000 wildlife casualties. This volume of work requires lots
of time, dedication and money. Folly relies on help from good people like yourself.
Click here now to
find out how to Adopt a Hedgehog
UK Safari Wildlife Hospital Listing
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