Cassius Clay scrubs up well

A HEDGEHOG that was encrusted with mud is recovering from its ordeal at a Fife wildlife centre.

Staff at the Scottish SPCA’S Wildlife Rescue Centre near Dunfermline are confident the hedgehog, given the name Cassius Clay, will make a full recovery.

The creature was rescued by the charity after being found covered in thick clay at the bottom of a trench. A young boy saw it struggling to move in the open drain while he was playing outside his home at Murrayfieldterrace, Bannockburn.

Inspector Louise Seddon was sent to rescue Cassius and took the bedraggled animal to the centre at Middlebank. She said, “This is the first hedgehog inci- dent I’ve attended this year so it’s possible he had just emerged from hibernation and accidentally fallen into the drain. Hedgehogs normally lose some weight and condition after months of hibernating, so he may have been disorientated while foraging for food.

“We bathed Cassius as soon as he got to our centre and we removed almost 80 grams of mud and clay from his body. The mud caked on his face was making it very difficult for him to breathe properly but he is now slowly showing signs of recovery.

“We hope Cassius will live up to his name and prove himself to be a little fighter as we’d love to return him back to the wild fit and well.”