An orphaned baby badger which was rescued by the RSPCA is now being hand-reared by dedicated staff at a wildlife centre.

The animal welfare charity was called out to reports that two orphaned badgers had been found on Friday (27) near woodland in Oldham.

A member of the public came across the animals and could see they were struggling and there was no sign of their mum.

Inspector Emma Dingley was sent to the scene and realised immediately that the baby badgers were close to death so rushed them to Greater Manchester Animal Hospital for veterinary treatment. 

Sadly one of the badgers did not survive but the other was given fluids and perked up after a couple of hours so was then transferred to the RSPCA’s Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Nantwich for specialist treatment. 

The eight-week old female is now recovering well and is being hand-reared. Once she is strong enough she will be released back into the wild.

Emma said: “There was no sign of the mother badger so I assume something happened to her and when she didn’t return to her sett the babies came out in desperation. 

“Normally badgers leave the sett at aged 8 to 10 weeks but stay close to mum when they are out.

“They were so close to death and hardly moving so I rushed them for veterinary treatment and while one sadly didn’t survive the other made a quick recovery after she was warmed up and given fluids and glucose.

“I was able to transfer her to the wildlife centre for on-going treatment and staff have said she is doing well.

“They are hand-rearing her with puppy milk and once she is strong enough she will be weaned.

CUB UPDATE:  After a couple of nights at Stapeley, the cub was transferred down to Cuan Wildlife Hospital who do an amazing job looking after wildlife in the Much Wenlock area - https://www.cuanwildliferescue.org.uk/

During this difficult time, our priority is to help animals in need. We are already experiencing strain on our centres and frontline due to Covid-19 and this will worsen in the weeks ahead. To help the RSPCA though this challenging time, please visit www.rspca.org.uk/give or call our donation line on 0300 123 8181.  We know this is a difficult time for animal lovers. Please visit our website for advice, information and support.