Badger cub pulls through after being hand-reared

06.06.11

Tiny cub rehabilitated as centre sees admissions double

A very young badger cub which came to our West Hatch Wildlife Centre, after being found in Weymouth, is on the road to a full recovery after receiving one to one care.

The cub was just one of 24 admitted to the centre during the first five months of this year.

Between 1 January and 31 May 2010, the centre, near Taunton in Somerset, took in 10 sick or injured badger cubs. In the same period this year, that number more than doubled to 24.

Wildlife centre manager, Peter Venn, said:

We aren’t sure why we have taken in so many more cubs, but it could be that the very dry weather has made it more difficult for the smaller badgers to find water and food, such as earthworms, leading to them becoming dehydrated and malnourished.

 

The cub (right) was collected by RSPCA animal welfare officer (AWO) Dudley Clements from Weymouth in late April. He was alone in a back garden and was crying out. It was thought that he had an injured leg, but he proved to be just very underweight and poorly.

Once the cub, thought to be aged between six and eight weeks, was transferred to West Hatch, his condition was assessed and staff realised that his teeth were not well developed. Together with the badger’s small size, his teeth indicated that he had been born slightly later in the season and would need to be fed with a mixture of milk and solid food.

Round-the-clock care

Following several days of hand-rearing and dedicated round-the-clock care, the badger began to respond. After more than a month in our care he has been introduced into a group of other badger cubs (left) and will be ready for release in August.

Wildlife centre manager, Peter Venn, said:

"This was a very small and sick badger which had obviously been a late birth.

"We weren’t sure whether he would pull through at first but once he began to feed and his blood test results were clear we mixed him with other badgers and he is making a great recovery."

Peter added:

Our usual advice to the public is if you see a lone baby animal, unless it is obviously injured like this cub, just monitor the situation from afar; the likelihood is that it does not need rescuing.

However, anyone concerned about a sick or injured animal can call the RSPCA 24-hour cruelty line on 0300 1234 999.

Worried about a baby animal?

Lots of young animals are handed in to us as orphans, but many of them actually haven’t been abandoned at all!

If you’re worried about a baby animal that seems to be alone read our advice: what to do with orphaned wild animals.