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Boy, 9, hikes more than 50km in aid of hedgehogs

Family Handout A boy pictured at the top of the Surrey Hills. he has long blonde hair and is wearing a navy raincoat. It is foggy and little can be seen in the background. Family Handout
Orran hiked over 50km (31 miles) across the Surrey Hills for a wildlife charity

A boy from Guildford has raised over three times his target for a new hedgehog incubator at a local wildlife charity.

Orran, nine, hiked more than 50km (31 miles) across the Surrey Hills on Saturday in aid of the Wildlife Aid Foundation, a Leatherhead-based charity that rescues and rehabilitates hedgehogs and other British wildlife.

Speaking to BBC Radio Surrey, Orran said: "It was a very nice walk even though it was 14 and a half hours long.

Winston Holland, engagement officer for the charity said: "All of us at the Wildlife Aid Foundation are just in awe of the work he's done."

Family Handout Two people sat on a log in the forest. Orran, pictured left, is wearing a blue hat, a light blue fleece and is holding a light blue water bottle. David, pictured right, is wearing a stripy hat and a teal blue and yellow coat Family Handout
Orran (left) completed the hike with his dad David (right)

Orran's love for hedgehogs began when he learned about them at school.

"The hedgehog to me is just so cute, and fascinating", he said.

In 2020, hedgehogs were put on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list as vulnerable to extinction in Great Britain.

The charity said it uses intensive care incubators to "create a fully liveable habit for small or young animals".

The incubators, which cost around £800, are fully enclosed and have a humidifier.

Mr Holland said the Wildlife Aid Foundation are "more than happy to work with the family to find what they would love to fund and what we could use as a useful source for the charity".

Orran completed the hike with his dad David who described the day as "remarkably cold".

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