South Essex Wildlife Hospital

Home
United Kingdom
Orsett
South Essex Wildlife Hospital

South Essex Wildlife Hospital Dedicated to putting “life” back into the “wild”
veterinary care and rehabilitation for wildlife.

15/02/2025

Tonight, we are fighting to save the life of this little fox...

On arrival she was barely responsive, cold to the touch and, with an internal body temperature of 33 celcius, hypothermic. Her breathing was so shallow at first that we had to do a double take to make sure she was still with us.

Even with the odds so heavily stacked against her, we are not ready to give up on her just yet... For the past few hours, Tom and staff member, Alannah, have been hard at work giving her IV fluids and slowly trying to bring up her body temperature. This is just the start of a VERY long process but, as long as she is still willing to fight for her life, so will we ❤

If you would like to donate towards her ongoing care, please visit https://www.southessexwildlife.org/donate . THANK YOU ❤🦊❤

14/02/2025

❤ Freedom is the best gift we could give this Valentines Day! ❤

For any of our patients, freedom day is always very special. It's what we have all worked so hard for and in sometimes the culmination of MONTHS of work by staff, volunteers and even the patient themselves.

These three female grey seal pups are a very important group. Almost all arrived in our care with wounds from a dog attack, with one being so badly injured that, even now, she is permanently scarred from her ordeal (can you see the scars in the second picture?). It has taken a lot of work from Tom and our seal team, but we're so happy to say that all three were released in the peak of health 🥰

Caring for them and teaching them how to eat has been a true privilege and we wish them all the luck in the world back in the wild 🦭❤🦭❤🦭❤

14/02/2025

Happy Valentines day everyone! ❤❤

We hope you're having a fantastic day today, wether you're celebrating or not! Whilst we are still hard at work at the centre, today is certainly a very special day for three of our grey seal pups... watch this space! 🦭🥰

Did you know that the blue whale has the largest heart in the animal kingdom? They can be up to 5 feet tall and weigh 400 pounds (180kg)!

13/02/2025

Isn't it great when a little R&R is all that's needed? 🥰

Found by a member of the public, this female kestrel arrived with us unable to fly. Although we can't be 100% sure, it seems very likely that she was hit by a car.

Sadly, an x-ray found that she had fractured the radius in her left wing. Whilst damage like this often requires complex pinning surgery, the bone fragments were almost perfectly aligned and Tom had another idea. By immobilising her wing for a three-week recovery period, we could avoid the risk of surgery and, hopefully, get her back to the skies a little faster...

Fast forward to earlier today and we're delighted to say that the fracture has not only healed, but that she is now happily flying about in one of our aviaries!

Don't worry little one, you'll be free soon! ❤

If you would like to help us be there for injured wildlife, please consider donating at https://www.southessexwildlife.org/donate . All donations go towards saving animal lives!

12/02/2025

❤ Please help us get them home in time to start a family! ❤

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/getthemhome

With the 2025 'orphan season' now just weeks away, we are starting to see heavily pregnant animals that need to get back home in time to start their families!

Unfortunately, treatment is often not a quick process and many antibiotic courses can take weeks to properly treat any infection... something we just don't have time for! 😫😫

There is a long-lasting antibiotic that will help us to get them home as quick as possible, but it's VERY expensive (each bottle costs over £100 and doesn't have a long shelf life!) and we need your help...

Will you please help us get them home in time to raise their young? ❤

11/02/2025

A hop, a skip and a jump to freedom! 🪶

Releases are always special, but giving a bird back the gift of flight is just amazing... This herring gull (the species commonly called a 'seagull') arrived at the hospital with a fractured coracoid (a bone in the shoulder assembly) after being hit by a car 🚗

This bone is vital for flight but, luckily, the fracture was almost perfectly aligned and Tom was able to secure everything in place without the need for surgery.

Three weeks of healing and a little aviary time later, and flight was not only restored, but was stronger than ever! ❤

10/02/2025

If you ever find a wild animal that's tangled in netting, please don't just release it on the spot!

This female fox was rescued by the RSPCA (England & Wales) after being found tangled in a garden football net. Although they quickly cut her free and rushed her into our care, the damage had already been done...

The tight squeezing from these entanglements often leads to something known as 'constriction injuries', with many taking days or even weeks to fully present themselves. If left untreated, the tight tissue can have a tourniquet-like effect on the limb, cutting off blood flow almost completely - definitely not something anyone wants! 😫

Luckily, this little one is now getting the care she needs, but this is something that should be remembered in ALL constriction cases. Please never release anything from netting unless you know what to check for first! ❤

09/02/2025

They may have not arrived yet, but we still need your help to give our 2025 badger cubs the very best chance at a wild future!

Could you be the chamption these stripy little humbugs need? If you have land and are willing to consider being a badger cub release site, then Essex Badger Protection Group want to hear from you! Please see their post below for more details! 🦡

09/02/2025

You guys have been incredibly generous recently with donations of newspaper, towels and sheets and have managed to completely fill our storage room! 🫣🤯

If you were planning on bringing newspaper down to us over the next few weeks, please could we ask you to either wait a little while or donate it elsewhere temporary. We'd hate to not be able to make use of it!

Donations of large towels, sheets and chocolate biscuits are still gratefully accepted! 🤣

08/02/2025

We see patients arrive from a whole host of different situations, but being found in a cleaning cupboard at a leisure centre has to be a first!

Luckily for this young pigeon, he was rescued and brought into the hospital to be checked over. A little thin and dirty, he has been cleaned and moved into our ward for some much-needed rest and food. He will return to the big blue sky once fully self-dependant. 🐦

Where's the strangest place you've ever seen an animal?

07/02/2025

Beaten, battered and covered in blood after being attacked by a dog, this poor swan arrived in a bad way. His feathers were so matted in parts that it proved quite a challenge just to locate his wounds...

With puncture injuries all around his face and neck, Tom and staff member, Alannah, set to work cleaning him up and treating his wounds. This is the start of a long period of treatment and monitoring, but he is already looking brighter and a little of the trademark swan feistiness is starting to emerge. 🦭

If you are walking your dog near wildlife (especially if the dog is known to run at them), please make sure to keep them on a lead until the coast is clear. Sadly, we see this sort of injury all the time and many are completely avoidable!

06/02/2025

With three of our male grey seals heading back to freedom last week, three of our girls are now enjoying the space of our outdoor pool! 🦭🦭🦭

Splashing about in our pool may look like a bit of fun, but it's actually a vital part of seal rehabilitation. Whilst eating almost 150 fish a day helps them grow to the size needed for release, this weight needs to be turned into muscle and they need a lot of practice breath holding!

With grey seals being able to hold their breath for up to 45 minutes whilst hunting, this is a vital skill in making sure that they are 100% fit to return to the wild ❤

Now... don't mind us, we just need to dry out our camera 😅

05/02/2025

❗️WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES!❗️

It's now been a week since this beautiful fox received surgery for the wounds he received after being hit by a car and, whilst progress is slow, he is slowly making improvements ❤

With broken teeth and a really nasty wound to his elbow, he was almost dead when he was found and it's amazing to see how much progress he has made!

Come on little one... I'm sure we're all rooting for you! 🦊

04/02/2025

We're full to bursting with grey seal pups here at SEWH but, when we were asked to help squeeze this 19kg female in, we just couldn't say no.

Rescued from the beach by British Divers Marine Life Rescue medics, this poor girl has had a lot to deal with in her short life. Not only did veterinary examinations find wounds to her back and flippers, but she also arrived with a heavy burden of lungworm.

Luckily, she is responding well to treatment and our 'seal team' are already hard at work trying to help her recover. We still have a lot of work to do, but we will do everything we can to give her the best chance at a new life in the wild. 🦭

03/02/2025

In our line of work, there's nothing better than watching an animal return to freedom and we're beyond delighted to say that this stunning barn owl (who arrived with us after flying into a glass window) is now back in the wild! ❤

Although some patients can take a lot longer, this little guy only needed a week of rest and treatment before being deemed fit enough to return home. We wish him the very best of luck back in the big, wide world! 🌍🦉

Did you know that we rely 100% on public donation to do what we do? If you wanted to help us save lives, them please consider making a donation (or signing up as a monthly donor) at https://www.southessexwildlife.org/donate 🥰

02/02/2025

We are beyond grateful to the CDOT Voices Choir for raising a massive £634 for our work from their recent choir performance.

Sue (our founder) and lead vet, Tom loved watching you all perform!

With the centre costing more than £1,000 days to run, support from people like the CDOT Voices Choir is absolutely vital in making sure that we can work to the best of our ability and we could not be happier for their generous support! ❤

01/02/2025

This starling was NOT easy to rescue! 🤯

We were recently called out to a house in Grays after the homeowner heard flapping coming from inside the walls. On arrival, they had managed to pin down the noise as coming from the bathroom, but finding the poor bird was not an easy task!

After a lot of searching using our inspection camera (kindly donated by one of you from our Amazon Wishlist!), Lawrie, one of our rescuers found a rather annoyed starling at the bottom of a small wall cavity behind a cupboard. Unfortunately, with no access panel the only option was to get out the saw...

Amazingly, the homeowners were more than happy with this and, after unscrewing several panels to make sure we could hide any opening, Lawrie set to work. As power tools could easily cause both physical and hearing damage to the poor bird, it took a lot of sawing to get through the 1" thick wood!

Finally, we got the panel open and the bird left no time in hopping to freedom! Having only been trapped for a single day (and with a full assessment finding nothing of concern), it was able to be released straight back to the wild ❤

31/01/2025

When we first met this fox, he was almost dead.

Found barely breathing after being hit by a car, kind onlookers called for our help and Lawrie, one of our rescuers, rushed out to help. Whilst we were able to bring him back to the hospital in under an hour, his injuries were horrific... (photo in comments).

Left with broken teeth, blood in his mouth and a horrible degloving injury to his elbow, time was quickly running out, but we weren't going to give up on him. After a night of stabilisation under Tom's watchful eye, he was taken straight into surgery where Tom and vet nurse, Hester, set about the long process of closing his wounds and removing the damaged tooth.

It's taken a lot of work, but this beautiful boy is finally starting to improve and every day we see more and more of him coming back to us.

Don't worry, we won't stop fighting for you! 🦊

Address

Orsett Road
Orsett
RM163BH

Telephone

+441375893893

Website

https://southessexwildlife.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when South Essex Wildlife Hospital posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to South Essex Wildlife Hospital:

Videos

'Rocky' the baby seal returns home!

The time is finally here... After 51 days in our care, 'Rocky' - the young grey seal pup who was flown into our care from Jersey by private plane - has finally been given his second chance at life back in the wild ❤ Here is the moment he finally tasted the freedom he has been waiting for... 🦭 None of this would have been possible without the rescue efforts of BDMLR Channel Islands, the generosity of London Southend Jet Centre and, of course, the support of all of you. Your donations, no matter how small, make all of this possible. Thank you for helping us give Rocky a chance.

National badger day! 🦡

What better way to celebrate National Badger Day than a glimpse into how our 2024 badger cubs are doing? 🦡👀 Thanks to the wonderful team at Essex Badger Protection Group, they have been monitored using special motion-activated night vision cameras and we're pleased to say that they are definitely settling in to their new home. Having put a lot of effort into these stripy little creatures this year, it's such a privalidge to see them doing well! Not long now little humbugs... you'll be free soon! 🦡🦡

Fox SAVED after being hit by a train

🦊 TRAIN FOX FULL STORY 🦊 Well... we promised you an update and boy do we have one! Here is the full story of the fox who was rescued by Greenwich Wildlife Network after being hit by a train. Be warned, some parts are a little graphic... ❗ To answer a few questions that some people have had: ❗ - Research has found that foxes can survive perfectly well without a full tail. There is a limit on what can be removed, but this chap was lucky! - Yes, the fur will grow back around the stump, this process just takes time and is not worth the stress of keeping him captive. - For any adult territorial animal, it's vital to release them back into their home territory. They know where to find food, shelter and more and will likely be attacked and injured if moved elsewhere. It may not seem ideal to us, but it's the best for the fox 🦊

Baby fox gets his HEAD stuck in a sink!

We see some pretty odd things in the world of wildlife rescue, but it's always foxes that seem to find themselves in the strangest positions! Lead vet, Tom, was recently called out to help this poor fox cub after he'd somehow managed to get his HEAD stuck in the plughole of a sink. With breaking the sink being far too risky to try, the only option was to gently try and pull the little guy back the way he went in... Watch the full video to see what happened to the little fox! 🦊 If you wanted to support our work, please consider donating at https://southessexwildlife.org/donate

Wildlife Rescue - A sneak peak at our new TV series!

Wow! The response to the announcement of 'Wildlife Rescue' - a new four-part TV series on our work here at SEWH was absolutely amazing! We're all really excited for launch night this Thursday, but in the meantime we have something very special for you... Here is a sneak peak of what's coming! 😁 We can't wait to see you all there, and please share far and wide! #C4WildlifeRescue

Rescued baby seals experience water for the first time!

Ever seen an excited seal pup before? 🦭 Let's be honest... grey seals aren't really meant for land. These beautiful creatures are perfectly adapted to water and can't hide their excitement when they find it for the first time! These pups all arrived as orphans and, up until now, have only experienced shallow water as they grew up. When their turn came to enter our deeper pool for the first time, it's safe to say that they loved it! ❤️ 🦭 ❤️

Hungry young mouse gets a meal!

Someone's hungry... but only wants to eat when no-one is watching! 🫣

South Essex Wildlife Hospital

15/02/2025

14/02/2025

14/02/2025

13/02/2025

12/02/2025

11/02/2025

10/02/2025

09/02/2025

09/02/2025

08/02/2025

07/02/2025

06/02/2025

05/02/2025

04/02/2025

03/02/2025

02/02/2025

01/02/2025

31/01/2025

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Videos

'Rocky' the baby seal returns home!

National badger day! 🦡

Fox SAVED after being hit by a train

Baby fox gets his HEAD stuck in a sink!

Wildlife Rescue - A sneak peak at our new TV series!

Rescued baby seals experience water for the first time!

Hungry young mouse gets a meal!

Shortcuts

Share