A need to rewild our gardens to make them wildlife friendly

A litter of 5 leverets was brought to this wildlife clinic following their discovery during grass cutting. Leverets are born with their eyes open, and are left alone in the day, laying in place, to avoid attracting predators. The mother returns at sunset and the leverets gather around her to suckle.

It is estimated that roughly 40% of wildlife cases that come through these doors is the result of inappropriate removal. The images depict leverets being marked for easy identification and weighed until they are fully nursed so they may be released back to their natural habitat. These kinds of cases are resource intensive for clinic staff, when better public understanding of local wildlife can go a long way.

If there ever were a hedgehog queen...

Dr. Julie Botman, a wildlife veterinarian at the Oniris Wildlife Clinic in Nantes, does absolute miracles for the rescued hedgehogs that come into her care. Hedgehogs are frequent visitors for wildlife clinics here in France. Fully sedated, this little fellow is having his dressing changed and will continue to be monitored until full recovery of his skin lesions before release back to his natural habitat.

A sparrowhawk in gentle hands

A rescued Eurasian sparrowhawk is captured in a rehabilitation aviary for a thorough check-up. The hawk is no match for the wildlife caretaker, who swiftly and without error captures the bird to perform a necessary limb, wing and feather check. One-handedly and with great care, she takes photographs of the bird’s defective feathers for follow-up. The bird is released until her next visit.