Wildlives August News Letter

A bat with attitude

Cat attacks remain the prime cause of admissions to Wildlives, and the bacteria carried on their claws and teeth make prompt treatment essential even if no wounds are obvious.
A pipistrelle bat was brought in after both wings were damaged by a cat so that he was unable to fly, as one of the wings was completely unusable.
Although WIldlives has seen quite a few bats, this one will be remembered as a 'bat with attitude'. After initial treatment he was fostered to Theresa, a volunteer.
His recovery was so rapid that
Theresa spent three and a half hours in the middle of the night trying to catch him! He was successfully returned to the site where he was found.

Reprieve for Charlie fox

Charlie was found collapsed by the side of a road, and taken to a vet. The vet diagnosed radial nerve damage in a front leg, and suggested amputation.
As the lady who found him had become attached to him, she decided to do this and keep him as a pet. After several conversations Wildlives persuaded her that this would be a very precipitate action, as we have often had great success with nerve damage given time.Further, he would not be able to survive in the wild with a front leg missing, and foxes do not make good pets - which his finder had come to appreciate by the time she brought him to the centre. He had become extremely aggressive, and has already bitten Rosie on numerous occasions while trying to treat him. He has now been booked into a specialist centre in Cambridge, where his treatment will include acupuncture.

	An exceptional hedgehog
	The admission rate at Wildlives continues to rise. This June has seen more than double the number of admissions for this period last year. Both phones have rung non-stop with pleas for advice on wildlife-related issues from all over the country, and July seems set to continue at the same hectic pace. Fortunately all the animals mentioned in last month's newsletter have been successfully released, making some room for the new intake. The exception to this is Olivia the tawny owl, who has now been joined by another young tawny, now named Lenny.
	As always, hedgehogs continue to arrive, in all imaginable sizes, colours, and circumstances! A three-legged hoglet, Marigold, was brought in by Donna from the RSPCA. She seems to have caught her rear leg in wire netting, and her efforts to escape stripped the skin and muscle from the bone, leaving the foot dangling. The leg was too badly damaged to save, and was amputated by a vet. Hedgehogs can survive without disadvantage in the wild without a rear leg, and she is making a brilliant recovery. Buttercup arrived after a dog took her into someone's house, where they found her in the front room in the morning. All the volunteers agree she is the most beautiful hedgehog we have ever had. She is almost leucistic, as her prickles are unpigmented but her eyes and the skin on her back are chocolate-coloured. (True leucistic animals lack all pigment in the skin, but do have pigmented eyes). We hope eventually to home her with the same carer as Honey hedgehog, the albino from last Christmas.

Olivia the tawny owl with her new friend Lenny, both orphans.

Help Wildlives, be kind to the environment
and save yourself some money!

You can now do all three whenever you replace your inkjet cartridge or laser toner. Please click here for further information

Newsletter editor: kathy.jinkings@ntlworld.com

Home Page