Frozen Hope the hedgehog released back into wild

A wildlife rescue is celebrating the release of a hedgehog who was found so frozen in mud its rescuer thought it was dead.

The hedgehog, who has been named Hope, has been cared for by Holderness Hedgehog Hospital in East Yorkshire.

When it was found in December 2023, it had lost its toenails digging for food in the icy ground and only weighed 411g (14 oz).

Hope now weighs a healthy 1kg (2lb) and is a "beautiful, large, female", according to the charity's trustee Vicky Pennington, who described releasing the animal back into the wild as the "best feeling in the world".

Ms Pennington, who is an emergency assessor for the charity, received a call from a woman called Chloe on 2 December, when overnight temperatures had been about -3 or -4C (26F).

She was "really upset" at finding a frozen hedgehog on her garden path in the Avenues area of Hull and thought it was dead but was advised to warm it up slowly using a hot water bottle.

"As the hedgehog warmed up, she was taking breaths," Ms Pennington said, so Chloe took the hedgehog to the rehabilitation centre near Withernsea.

As well as being underweight and losing her toenails, Hope was also dehydrated and suffering with an internal parasite.

Ms Pennington said that as an autumn juvenile hedgehog, Hope hadn't managed to put on enough weight before the winter and likely hadn't gone into hibernation at all.

She described Hope as an "absolute little fighter" that was transferred to volunteer foster carers for six months after getting out of the "danger zone".

After growing back toenails, Hope was taken back to the Avenues area on Saturday, where finder Chloe was "really excited" to help release it into the garden where it was found.

Though the weather is now warmer, Ms Pennington advised people to report sightings of hedgehogs in the daytime to a local wildlife sanctuary.

She urged people to remember the phrase, "out in the day, not OK".

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