ECO ILEADERS: HANK THE TANK RESCUE
On Wednesday 23rd March, this hedgehog was spotted by a student during breaktime. He had fallen down a drain and was immersed in the cold, dirty water.
Mrs Hessey, Head of Year 11, was quick to rescue him and he was taken to Prickly Pigs Hedgehog Rescue in Otley by Mrs Wood, who runs the Eco iLeaders student group. He was completely saturated and sopping wet.
After taking a good look at him he was subsequently named ‘Hank the Tank’ by the centre for being so unusually big! Prickly Pigs placed him in an incubator to dry him out, treated him with antibiotics for parasites and have lovingly nursed him back to health over four weeks.
This week he was finally released back into his familiar territory of the school grounds in a safe and secret location. The Eco group will be checking on his newly installed hedgehog house and keeping an eye on his water and food supplies during their weekly litter picks this half-term.
To raise funds, the Eco-iLeaders decided to hold a Bake Sale one Friday breaktime and raised £86.50 for the Prickly Pigs Hedgehog Rescue.
Hedgehogs are declining rapidly in Britain. Over the past twenty years the hedgehog population has plummeted by 30% and in some areas as much as 50% (People’s Trust for Endangered Species).
When we collected Hank this week, Prickly Pigs told us that they were currently caring for fourteen hedgehogs at a cost of £70-80 each. In the height of the summer last year they peaked at having fourty-two prickly guests to nurse back to health. They really do provide an essential hedgehog service and we are so grateful that they could care for one of our wildlife residents. If you would like to make a donation, support Prickly Pigs or learn more about how to help hedgehogs, please click on the links below:
- What to do if you have found or are concerned about a hedgehog
- Support Prickly Pigs
- How to make your garden hedgehog friendly
