The volunteers at the Gozo Section of the Wildlife Rescue Team were busy with hoglets over the weekend as they released, and rescued, more hedgehogs.
After having released rehabilitated Massimo, Dolly and Andrea, the team picked up Shanti, Martha and Jojo, with another one named Sky rescued from Comino.
Shanti, Martha and Jojo were found on their own with no sign of their mothers or their nests in various areas around Gozo.
‘Hoglets always do best when raised by their mothers, so we only intervene and take in hoglets when we can find no sign of mum or the nest nearby’, the team explained.
‘Hoglets can get separated from their mothers for a number of reasons; sometimes the hoglet is too curious and confident and wanders out of the nest only to get lost. Sometimes the mother sadly passes away or she abandons the hoglet as she senses that something is wrong. Sometimes, it is because the mother is struggling to find enough food and water to keep herself and her hoglets alive.’
‘Hedgehogs are Lactose intolerant and should NEVER be given cows milk, we use special hedgehog formula to feed the hoglets that we rescue.’
Meanwhile, Sky was found ‘in the middle of the path in daylight. Sky is still a very young hoglet who has likely gotten separated from it’s mother. It is much too young to survive in the wild on it’s own, when found it was very cold and hungry. Sky has been given special hedgehog milk and a hot water bottle and will be cared for by our volunteers until old enough to be released.’
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