NO PRICKLY ISSUE FOR BLONDIE AND BEST PAL SMITH...

Saw this in yesterdays's DAILY EXPRESS, thought

you might enjoy seeing it too.  (I'm so considerate.)  Click

to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.)

******

This adorable image shows an ultra-rare blond hedge-

hog rescued by an animal hospital.

Blond, or leucistic hedgehogs, have a partial loss of

pigmentation which results in pale colouration of every-

thing other than the eyes.

This particularly cute example, aptly named Blondie, was

brought into Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Aylesbury,

Buckinghamshire, late last year after wandering around

during the daytime suffering from malnutrition.

Blondie had been born in August and should have weighed

600g but was only a quarter of the size at 165g.

The tiny mammal was rehydrated and given antibiotics

by the centre's nurses.

Soon after arriving at Tiggywinkles, Blondie befriended

a hog named Smith and has gone from strength to strength

and is now fighting fit.

Despite the clean bill of health, Blondie has a weak immune

system and will never be released into the wild.  The unusual

colour would also be an invitation to predators.

Sharon Jacobs, a nurse at Tiggywinkles, said:  "Blondie

was very underweight when we got him and not at all

in a good state.

"Had he been in the wild for much longer there's no

way he would have survived.

"Soon after arriving here he made a friend and things

started to really look up - his health rapidly improved.

"We separated Blondie and Smith when they reached

400g, as you're supposed to do, but Blondie didn't like

that one bit so we put them back together."

By John Ingham. 

Posted in: Cartoons