A badger who tried unsuccessfully to dig her way out of a garden before getting stuck in a tight gap between a wall and a fence has been rescued by the RSPCA.
The young female mammal was spotted snoozing in the flowerbeds in the back garden of a house in Ingleby Barwick. The homeowners, concerned about the animal’s welfare, called the RSPCA.
After waking up, the young badger tried to leave the garden but became wedged in a narrow gap between the garage and a fence before being caught by RSPCA inspector Clare Wilson.
“The badger was asleep in the flowerbeds and at first I thought she might be poorly or injured as she wasn’t moving,” said inspector Wilson.
“She then got up and became stuck between the garage and the fence. I managed to catch her with my grasper and pull her towards me before putting her in a vari kennel in my van to get her checked over.
“The garden was secure other than a small cat-sized gap in the gate, so she may have squeezed through that and didn't fancy getting back out the same way.
“She’d made a bit of a mess in the flowerbeds and kicked a lot of soil back, presumably where she’d been trying to dig her way out before giving up and settling down for a sleep.”
The badger was taken to Jacqui Patersons Veterinary Hospital in Stockton-on-Tees and was found to have no obvious injuries, so the decision was made to re-release her.
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Inspector Wilson added: “The homeowners were concerned for her welfare and did the right thing by calling us rather than attempting to handle her.
"It was quite an unusual incident to attend but a great sight for us all to be able to return her to the wild and see a normally shy animal shuffling off happily.”
The badger was successfully released following the incident on 4 January. It's thought she may have been a younger animal that could have been pushed out of the main sett as the boar and sow prepare it for the arrival of offspring next month.
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