Baby hedgehog rescued by animal lover turns out to be a Pom Pom

The Good Samaritan phoned Lower Moss Wood Nature Reserve and Wildlife Hospital, near Knutsford, one evening, for advice.

Hospital manager Janet Kotze said: “She told me she had found a little hedgehog baby on the pavement outside her house.

“I was a bit alarmed as it is a bit unusual to see baby hedgehogs at this time of year.

Janet Kotze, hospital manager at Lower Moss Wood Nature Reserve with a picture of the hat bobble an animal lover mistook for a baby hedgehog (Image: Lower Moss Wood Nature Reserve and Wildlife Hospital)

“I told her to bring it in.”

The woman kept the ‘hoglet’ warm in a box with a hot water bottle and cat food and brought it to the animal hospital the following morning.

Janet said: “The woman was in her late 50s. She came in with it in a shoebox and told me it hadn’t eaten or moved at all.

“I was astonished, it was immediately apparent it wasn’t a hedgehog because it was soft and fluffy.

The hat bobble an animal lover mistook for a baby hedgehog with cat food she had given it to eat (Image: Lower Moss Wood Nature Reserve)

“I came out and said: ‘It’s a hat bobble’.

‘She said: ‘You’re joking’.

“She was extremely embarrassed, I was speechless.

“I told her it just means your heart is in the right place.

“She took the box and left very quickly. Normally I ask people to fill in a form but I didn’t even get her name.”

Janet praised the woman for her actions.

“There is no need for her to be embarrassed,” she said.

“What she did was correct, it just didn’t happen to be a hedgehog.”

Hedgehogs are now starting to nest.

“You may see a female hedgehog out and about in the daytime,” said Janet.

“But they move with purpose, carrying bits of a leaf or branches and twigs to make a nest.

“They shouldn’t really be out in the daytime.

“If you do find one it's a sign something's not right, put it in a box and call your nearest rescue centre.

“Don’t fiddle with them. Hedgehogs can get extremely stressed and it can kill them.”

Lower Moss constantly needs funds.

Janet said: “We need every bit of income we can get. Donations are always hugest appreciated.

“We are the only facility of this kind in this area.

“We have to pay for all the animals’ food, vets’ bills and electricity for the incubators.”

The wildlife hospital takes in around 2,000 casualties every year.

This can be anything from an abandoned baby bird to an injured badger or fox.

Looking after and treating wildlife costs around £60,000 per year.

To enable the charity to continue tending sick and injured wildlife visit lowermosswood.com to donate.