South Essex Wildlife Hospital

06/03/2025

Wildlife in the UK is in crisis. Rescue centres across multiple counties have seen a sharp rise in the number of casualties arriving with horrific human-caused injuries and this number is only increasing as the months roll on.

Catapult injuries are at an all time high, with pigeons, waterfowl, swans and even foxes repeatedly suffering from ball bearing injuries. Recent news reports have even found that some of these perpetrators (normally young teenagers) have even injured a baby after shooting a ball through a car window.

This x-ray shows a fox with an air rifle pellet lodged in his head. This pellet entered through his eye socket and, trust us, the photos are far too graphic to show. These sort of shootings are also on the rise and it is not uncommon for us to find pellets or even shotgun shot in many of the patients we treat.

The changing attitudes towards our wildlife is, quite frankly, very worrying. The biodiversity we see in the UK in nothing short of remarkable and we should be doing all we can to preserve it, not destroy it as a 'bit of fun'.

It's quickly getting to the point that we are lost for words.

05/03/2025

When one became two! 🦡🦡

It's very early in the year to see a badger cub, so imagine our surprise when we received a second of the same age! This tiny male is only a few grams heavier than our first cub and was found alone in the middle of a golf course. Cubs of this size should not be out of the sett and we're still not sure why he ended up where he did...

Uninjured but dehydrated and covered in ticks, he has been treated by Tom before joining his new 'sibling' in the hands of Nina from Essex Badger Protection Group. These two are only the start of our upcoming badger clan, but we hope it will be a little longer before their number rises again! 🤯

04/03/2025

Last night we posted about the amazing moment when five tiny fox cubs were returned to their mother... but there's more to the story!

Female foxes are known to be amazing parents, but the males can be a little hit and miss regarding whether or not they help raise their new litter. Luckily, the father of these five kits was not only an amazing parent, he showed us something that we have never seen in more than 30 years of reuniting fox families!

Let's hope his youngsters take after him ❤

To support our work, please donate at https://www.southessexwildlife.org/donate

03/03/2025

Wildlife rescue is always an emotional rollercoaster, but the last few days have been INCREDIBLY intense for our team. Trust us, this is worth a read! 🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊

With five little fox cubs needing to return home after being mistaken for kittens, two of our team, Alannah and Lawrie, set to work on trying to get them home. With information from members of the public leading the team to a particular location and time, the cubs were moved to a high-sided box with several heat pads and placed on a secluded pavement.

Watching from the car, it wasn't long before the team heard a fox frantically calling out. A few minutes later, a fox who had clearly recently given birth appeared from behind a car and raced over the box. Making soft greeting sounds, she quickly collected one cub and raced away, only to return a few minutes later with her mate to collect another cub. As she carried the second cub away, her mate sat guard by the box and we all waited with baited breath for her to return for the rest.

Sadly, she didn't come back. Disturbance at a house further down the road seemed to spook the pair and, despite several hours of waiting, they never came back for the other three cubs 😢. With the cubs starting to get cold, we had no choice but to take them back to the centre and try again another day.

Chances of a successful reunion drop as the days go by, but we were hopeful that the second attempt (now day three) would prove successful. Alannah and Lawrie waited for almost six hours but, although the adult male appeared and, in an amazing display, brought them food and waited nearby, the female never appeared to collect them and they were forced to come back to the centre.

Day four was always going to be a push but, thanks to information from friend of the charity, Steve, the team set out once again to try. After more than 12 hours of waiting, and just as hope was fading, mum appeared and collected the remaining cubs ❤

Our orphan season is going to be a very busy one, but helping these tiny youngsters return home was the best outcome we could ever have hoped for ❤🦊❤

To support our work, please donate at https://www.southessexwildlife.org/donate

03/03/2025

Brace yourself, because the story of these little fox cubs is one heck of an emotional rollercoaster... 🦊🦊🦊🦊🦊

At around a week old, these five youngsters had been taken to a local vet practice after being found in a very odd place - an ATTIC! The homeowner had thought they were kittens and a neighbour got in touch with us after being told of their vulpine nature.

The best thing to raise a young fox is, and always will be, a fox and an attempt was made to reunite them with their mother that night. Unfortunately, this was not successful and two of our team, Alannah and Lawrie, set off to assess their condition.

Finding them dehydrated and a little cold, the decision was made to bring them back for a little care before trying again that evening. Luckily, Alannah has raised hundreds of foxes over the years and soon had them feeling better!

Once they were fed and warm, it was just a case of trying to get them back home... something that was FAR easier said than done...

Come back this evening for part 2 of their story. Trust us, you won't want to miss it!

02/03/2025

Whilst the upcoming Spring months will see thousands of new lives born across the UK, some youngsters are already reaching the end of their 'family time'!

Young mute swans are normally kicked out after 5-10 months of parental protection and will stay in flocks until they reach around 4 years old. This particular youngster had clearly got a little lost and was found alone and in a thin condition.

Luckily, food and rest are something we are always happy to provide and this not-so little guy is now recovering on one of our outdoor paddocks. He will head back to join a flock as soon as he is back to full health. 🦢

02/03/2025

Thank you so much to everyone who voted for us to win a £5,000 donation!

Unfortunately we were not successful this time, but we really do appreciate all of your support and generosity! ❤️

For one week only we are in with a chance of winning a MASSIVE £5,000 donation from The Benefact Group, but we need your nomination to make it happen! 🙏

https://bit.ly/NominateSEWH

It just takes 5 minutes and can make a HUGE difference to our work! Please take a look at the link below to fill out the form!

01/03/2025

Left for dead after being hit by a car, this female badger had crawled into a garden before being rescued by Chris from Essex Badger Protection Group and rushed into our care.

Wobbly and suffering numerous injuries to her face and neck, she was immediately placed on an IV drip whilst her wounds were cleaned and checked. Although no bones were broken she will need a lot of work and Tom and the team are doing everything they can to help her recover.

With both badgers and foxes ready to give birth (some have already done so), it's heartbreaking to see how many female animals are being pulled from the wild thanks to the actions of humans. This poor girl is not the first and definitely won't be the last but, for the next few months, we will see cases like this on a daily basis.

Please make sure to think of wildlife when driving and slow down on country roads. It may be more than one life you change...

28/02/2025

What's black, white and only weighs 300g (about the same as an apple!)? Our first orphan of the year! 🦡

Compared to most badger cubs that find themselves needing rescue, this little guy is TINY and, sadly, needed our help after being brought home by a cat. Luckily bearing no injuries from his ordeal, he was given a thorough check up by vets Tom and Anna before being sent home with volunteer, Nina (who is also part of Essex Badger Protection Group) for regular feeding.

It's definitely unusual to see a badger cub this early in the season, but this is just the start of a VERY busy few months for us here at SEWH! If you would like to help support us as we try to help more than 1,000 orphaned animals, please visit https://www.southessexwildlife.org/donate ❤

28/02/2025

! ❤

Many of our young patients are released in groups, but we thought you'd like to see this little guy head back to freedom... it definitely makes a change from the cupboard of a leisure centre! 😅

27/02/2025

We love it when our patients just need an overnight room and a little food! ❤

Arriving with us after being found grounded in a field, this pretty little bird is a fieldfare (a member of the thrush family) and arrived with us in quite a disoriented state. With no wounds and nothing abnormal found on x-rays, it seems that the poor bird was just stunned!

24 hours of monitoring and rest later and you'd never know it was the same bird! Now bouncing around one of our pens, it was given a final sign off before being allowed to return to freedom. Good luck back in the skies little bird! 🥰

26/02/2025

It's been a busy and tiring grey seal season for us here at SEWH, with our seal team not having a single rest day in well over a year! 😲

These fishy visitors may take a lot of work, but watching them finally take to the water after weeks (or even months) of work is a feeling that's impossible to describe. Seal pups aren't exactly suited for land (putting it mildly...), but the second they hit the water their skill, grace and playfulness really comes out ❤

These three girls are our next potential release group. They still need a little time in our outdoor pool, but it won't be too long before freedom beckons!

On a side note, how beautiful is our little 'snow leopard' seal? 😍

25/02/2025

There are not many crows who can say that they have been rescued by London Fire Brigade! 🧑‍🚒🚒

Stuck at the top of an extremely high tree, this little guy took two fire engines to get him to safety! Although not tangled in line, he was found to be covered in a sticky substance that had managed to tangle cardboard, sticks and more in with his feathers! 😫

Luckily, we have a good protocol for removing sticky substances from feathers and staff member, Alannah, soon set to work oiling, cleaning and washing each and every feather. It took a lot of time and patience, but we're delighted to say that he not only recovered well, but he's already been released back into the wild! ❤

24/02/2025

❗️WARNING - This story may not be suitable for sensitive individuals ❗️

Poisoning... We wish we could say that this is something that we never see, but the reality is that cases of deliberately poisoned foxes are not only rising, they're rising rapidly.

Even over the past week, we have seen so many cases of likely poisoning that every single one of our drip pumps has been in use at one time. Tom has tried his very best with each and every one and, whilst some are happy stories of recovery, this boy was not so lucky...

Not only is it illegal to intentionally poison or gas foxes, it is a very unpleasant way to go. It is far from quick and signs along the way include vomiting, mania, convulsions, vocalisation, salivation, cyanosis (where the skin turns blue from oxygen deprivation) and loss of coordination. Watching any animal go through such horrific trauma is bad enough, but this is now becoming an almost daily occurrence.

If you or anyone you know is trying to poison foxes, we urge you to stop immediately. These animals are just trying to survive in a very hostile world and, even if action must be taken, services like Fox-A-Gon provide fantastic alternatives.

Please. This has to stop.

23/02/2025

These two mallards arrived with a very peculiar story... 🧐🤔

Found huddled under a car, both of these birds arrived with similar damage to their flight feathers. Although definitely wild birds, it seems that someone had been trying to keep them in captivity before they either escaped or were 'released'...

It is illegal to keep a wild mallard in captivity without a licence and we are not quite sure what's gone on for these two. Luckily, this sort of damage is fixable with a little time and the pair are currently enjoying the space of one of our outdoor pond enclosures.

22/02/2025

Look who's feeling better! 🦊🤩

She may have been bitten by a dog, but that hasn't stopped this little fighter! We still have a way to go and she definitely needs a little more work, but we're so happy to see how much brighter she is looking already 🥰

Thank you to each and every one of you who donated towards her care so far. It's only thanks to you that we can keep giving wild animals like this little fox a chance at heading back to the wild ❤

If you would like to support her in her journey, you can donate to our work at https://www.southessexwildlife.org/donate

22/02/2025

Nominations close TOMORROW! Please nominate us if you haven't already!

It just takes a few minutes and means we'll be in with a chance of winning a HUGE £5,000 donation 🥰

For one week only we are in with a chance of winning a MASSIVE £5,000 donation from The Benefact Group, but we need your nomination to make it happen! 🙏

https://bit.ly/NominateSEWH

It just takes 5 minutes and can make a HUGE difference to our work! Please take a look at the link below to fill out the form!

21/02/2025

It seems to have been a tough year for grey seal pups this year... there aren't too many places equipped for the long-term rehab of seals and many are so full that new pups arrive as soon as a previous group is released! 😫 🦭

Rescued from the beach by British Divers Marine Life Rescue, our two latest arrivals are looking very sorry for themselves. Thin, very dehydrated and, in one case, alone on a beach for more than 30 hours, they were in desperate need of help.

Although you may think you'd want to get food into them as soon as possible, it's really important to take things slowly. Putting too much energy into digestion takes energy away from vital body functions (especially thermoregulation) and can very easily lead to a crash in condition! 😞

Our team has already started both on oral rehydration solution and a special 'fish soup' mix, but we need all fingers crossed for their recovery! 🤞🤞🤞