Agnes and Wendy Update

An update from Jeff and Jessica about Agnes and Wendy; the two cubs that were rescued in February:

Agnes and Wendy are both doing well at Folly, drinking from their bottles and then sleeping being their favourite things to do. They now look like delightful miniatures of adult badgers. Agnes has had to fight all the way through her 8 weeks of life but is now clear of her immediate health problems and has finished with her medication.

The next challenge over the coming weeks is for them to put on weight and to gradually be weaned onto more solid food. This is likely to be a slow process accompanied by lots of tantrums from the two girls who rather like their puppy milk. Fingers crossed but so far so good.
Anyone wishing to help with these and the other cubs at Folly can visit the Folly wish list on Amazon, become a friend of Folly or simply make a donation. For some items on the wish list, like the puppy milk,  it is necessary to purchase them on Amazon as yourself and change the delivery address to:

Folly Wildlife Rescue
Fairview Lane
Tunbridge Wells
TN3 9LU

-- Jeff & Jessica

Wendy and Agnes - completely inseparable!

by Badger Will

Badger Rescue and Release

In August 2023, Jeff and Jessica were involved in a rescue of a badger. The following is an account of the rescue and eventual release of the badger (which a few lucky members of the WKBG, including myself, were able to witness):

The rescue of this badger was after a call to Folly by a member of the public. He was on a grass verge beside a very busy and fast road, probably having been clipped by a car. Jessica and I had been out on a kestrel release when the call came in. We were not really equipped for a badger rescue, having only a very small cage and a net with us. It was clear that if we could not get the badger he would certainly venture onto the road and probably not survive the experience. On that basis we decided to improvise and give it a go, even though the lady who reported it was convinced that we would never fit the rather large badger into such a small cage. This was far from an orthodox or even ideal rescue but with the net securely over him he was unceremoniously manoeuvred, with a fair bit of difficulty, into the cage.

Once back at Folly he was sedated and examined. For once, not having a crush cage was an advantage as he was squeezed in so tight that giving him an injection was easy.

After a few weeks of rest, recuperation and medication at Folly he was deemed to be fit enough to go back into the wild. A visit to the original rescue site identified a quiet road very close to where he was found and this was selected for the release. A trip back to Folly was made to collect him and then a successful release that evening ended a happy story.

Not a text book rescue but sometimes needs must and the end result was good.

Pictures of the release:

Video of the badger being released:

by Badger Will

Funeral of Dave Witherspoon

Funeral of Dave Witherspoon

 

The funeral of Dave Witherspoon, the WKBG’s President, is at 1pm on Monday 29th January in St Mary’s Church in Downe (25 High St BR6 7US). Following the service there is a wake at the village hall which is opposite the church. We are grateful that the WKBG will be one of the beneficiaries of donations given in Dave’s memory.

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by Badger Will