MARCH 2011.

SCRUMPY.1st March. Goonhavern.
An injured badger was discovered in an outside kennel at a holiday park.
The kennel was shelter for the resident cats,who not surprisingly,refused
to enter it! We attended and collected the badger which was sporting the
usual bite wounds on the rump.A vet check found the wounds were starting
to heal,so Scrumpy was given antibiotic cover and after a week of rest
and feeding up was fit to be returned home and released.

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WOODY.15th March. Carbis Bay.
 We were called,in desperation,when a family found some baby mice in distress
One had sadly drowned in the garden pond,the other seemed determined to
follow it and the family pets were trying their best to grab it!As no-one
else were able to offer any help,we somewhat dubiously,agreed to try and
Woody the woodmouse came into care.With eyes still closed and weighing all
of 4 grams this tiny creature amazed us by going from strength to strength!
He happily took milk from a fine paintbrush and once his eyes opened started
eating crumbs then seeds and garden greenery.Before long,he was ready to go
free and we released him into a quiet stretch of hedgerow during a spell of
fine weather.

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ZIPPY.24th March. Gurnards Head.
Found out in daylight,hiding in the space between a house and neighbouring
wall,Zippy was captured and taken to St.Ives Vets for treatment.He had an
infected bite wound on the rump that needed antibiotic cover.He spent 10
days in the pens being well fed and resting up before being returned home
and released.

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JAY.26th March. Ludgvan.
A tiny,helpless"puppy"was found at the side of the road between Ludgvan and
Gulval.The finder handed it into the Rosevean Vets who realised the mistake
and gave us a call.It was actually a fox cub,a male,about one week old with
very dark fur and eyes still closed.Either his mother,or possibly a predator,
must have dropped him,as he was too young to be mobile.There was a wound
under his tail,possibly from being carried,but otherwise seemed fine.At
home he was settled into a warm incubator with a small teddy bear for
company.Once he got the idea of feeding from a bottle,Jay progressed well
and after 10 days moved into a cage(with a heat pad),to give him more space
as his mobility increased.Before long,he was weaning and looking much more
fox-like.

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FOLLY.28th March. Lostwithiel.
We rendevoused at Chiverton Cross with an RSPCA officer and accepted a fox
cub into care.This 3-4 week old vixen was the sole survivor of her family
which had been killed by terriers.We intended to pair the fox cubs up for
company but as FOlly was larger and stronger than Jay and his tail had not
completely healed,we decided to house them seperately.Folly was lapping quite
happily and was easy to wean.We later learnt,Folly had been kept as a pet,
which explained her docility.Once she was feeding independently,we adopted
a hands-off policy,which would help her revert to wilder ways.