The other day, someone in Medstead, UK, opened a recycling bin and found a strange sight: a half-filled Nutella jar on top of empty glass bottles. At first glance, it seemed like a jar of hazelnut spread, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be something entirely different.
Inside the jar was a clump of brown spikes, and it was moving. As soon as he realized it was a hedgehog inside, the rescuer—who has always been an animal lover—didn't waste a moment to grab the Nutella jar and rush to HART Wildlife Rescue (HWR) for help.
Sharing about the case, HWR said that it was unknown how she ended up in the glass bottle bin. Nonetheless, luck was on her side, as someone spotted her just in time.
“This poor little hedgehog got herself into quite the predicament,” HWR wrote in a Facebook post. “It’s not known how she got into the glass bottle bin, but she was incredibly lucky to have been spotted when she was!”
Getting the hedgehog out wasn't a straightforward task. She had curled into a ball out of fear, and all they could see were her sharp quills. The rescue team didn't want to stress her out further, so instead of using heavy equipment to break the jar, they came up with a clever solution.
“One of our wildlife carers, Olivia, used a coffee stirrer to scratch the hedgehog’s back and encourage her to uncurl whilst inside the jar,” HWR wrote in a Facebook update. “Once uncurled, our team [was] able to get ahold of the hedgehog’s front feet and gently wiggle her out of the jar.”
Thankfully, the little hedgehog made it out without any additional stress or injuries. And after the rescue, the hedgehog received plenty of love at HWR. They set her up in her own comfy space, ensuring she was warm, well-fed, and happy. Post-rescue, it was discovered that she was dealing with endoparasites, so her release was delayed until she's healthy enough.
As of now, the hedgehog is still under treatment at HWR, improving day by day. The team looks forward to releasing her back into the wild once she's ready, but they'll miss their sweet little companion. In the meantime, they're cheering her on during her recovery and making it clear that, when she finally returns home, all stray jars are strictly off-limits.