Saturday 21st July was a memorable day, all told. Firstly, it was the group’s Creatures of the Night event where the tremendous amount of work put in by committee members and volunteers paid dividends and it was a great success. Secondly was our unexpected badger rescue.
The call came from a member of the public around 1pm. A badger in Rossendale had been hit by a car, run off into some bushes but didn’t re-emerge.
Although manpower wasn’t an issue, equipment was. Eventually we sourced one of the older, wood-framed cages. It wasn’t ideal but it would do the job. Being local, Karen (appropriately dressed at the time in a badger costume) and I were despatched to assist David with the rescue.
In the midst of a thick clump of rhododendrons we found the badger: alive, conscious and scared. Being far more experienced, David took the lead. Within fifteen minutes he had the police blocking traffic and, armed with our cage and capturing equipment, we went to work.
Despite the dense undergrowth, the frightened badger was successfully captured with a minimum of fuss. I think that the crowd of on-lookers were a little disappointed not to see more action, maybe if Karen or I were at the lead then events would have been more ‘dramatic’!
It wasn’t just us working to save the badger; calls were hurriedly being made to locate a vet willing to take in a wild animal. Half an hour later we were in Bury and David was sweet-talking a bemused traffic warden into letting him park for half-an hour.
Inside the vets, the aged cage showed its failings with the badger having to be manhandled far more than with the modern mesh variety. This meant more stress for the badger as it had to come out of the cage for the examination. A couple of injections later and Rhody, as named by the receptionist, was free to leave, with no obvious injuries found.
He needed at least 48 hours of R&R and observation before he could be released. Where to keep him then…
…having a badger in your care is quite a thrill and watching him tuck into his food and crunch enthusiastically on doggy biscuits was a delight.
The next day David again showed the benefit of experience when we went out searching for the sett Rhody came from. It took a few hours of stumbling through thickets, knocking on doors and asking local people but we eventually discovered the most likely area. Thankfully nothing untoward was discovered which, given that Rhody had been out during the daytime, was our fear. All being well then, our badger would be released in just a couple of days. Or so we thought.
All wasn’t well, an injury to Rhody’s front paw was now apparent and a full examination, whilst sedated, was ordered. This time, with the use of a modern cage, the experience was far easier. Unfortunately, Rhody was diagnosed with ligament damage to the limb. Heavily dependent on his front paws for survival, he wasn’t going anywhere in the immediate future.
Favours were both called in or offered as people searched for somewhere to keep Rhody for an extended time. Thankfully, the Lower Moss Wood Nature Reserve & Wildlife Hospital in Knutsford eventually said they had room to take him for his recuperation. We’ll keep you updated with his progress!
*UPDATE*
Great News! Yesterday he was transferred from the hospital site into his own outdoor pen. He’s finished his medication and he’s been walking on his damaged left paw today without limping. Get well soon Rhody!!
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[dropcap]R[/dropcap]escuing badgers is a really important part of our job but equipment (we need specialist cages that are safe for badgers and humans alike!) and vets’ fees are expensive.
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Becoming a member brings many benefits to humans as well as badgers.
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Even a small contribution is a big help.
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