Budgie and racoon among rescues

From a budgie trapped in a van’s engine to a racoon on the loose, it is a roll call of creatures great and small rescued last year by Scotland’s leading animal welfare charity.

The Scottish SPCA has released a list of its “most unusual” rescues of 2018.

It includes a budgerigar which flew into the radiator of a van in Denny, Falkirk. The bird, named Twiddle, was eventually rescued, but after nobody came forward to claim him, he was successfully rehomed.

The charity also rescued a racoon spotted on CCTV in Libberton. The female, thought to be a pet that was released into the wild, is currently being cared for by staff.

Elsewhere, the Scottish SPCA dealt with what is believed to be its first ever rescue of a female black seal pup. The youngster, named Narcissa, is at the Scottish SPCA’S national wildlife centre in Fishcross, but it is hoped she will be released back into the wild soon.

The charity’s chief superintendent, Mike Flynn, said, “2018 was a very busy year for us in terms of rescuing, rehoming and releasing animals back into the wild. Our national wildlife centre had its busiest ever year, releasing over 5,000 animals.

“We deal with a lot of cases of neglect and mistreatment but as we cater for domestic, farm and wildlife creatures, we do also come across situations you wouldn’t expect.”