Owl trapped in wood-burning stove
In October the Scottish SPCA was called to an address in Macaulay Park, Aberdeen after a member of the public spotted what they thought was a hawk trapped in their wood burner.
Scottish SPCA animal rescue officer, Lynn Cruickshank, arrived to find the bird’s feet sticking out but when she got a proper look at the animal she realised the bird was a tawny owl and too big to fit down the flue!
She said: “With the member of the public’s permission and the help of their friend, we started to take parts off the stove to see if we could free the owl.
“Unfortunately after a while we were still really struggling so I called the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for assistance. They attended but also struggled to find a way to free the bird.
“Eventually it was agreed that we could break the seal around the stove and flue and remove the stove to free the owl. We’re so grateful to the member of the public for being so understanding and helpful.”
Thankfully the owl was unharmed from their adventure. The bird was checked over and given some food and water. They were then released back in to the wild none the worse for wear!
Hedgehog in a hole
The Scottish SPCA successfully rescued a hedgehog who was trapped approximately three feet down in a hole in the ground.
The charity was alerted to the incident when a member of public spotted the distressed hedgehog near Elvenfoot, Biggar and called for assistance on 13 July.
Animal rescue officer, Dawn-Vale Juma had to get creative and used her swan hook to push a dog lead down behind him then carefully lifted him up. Finally, she was able to get her fingers behind him and pull him out.
The rescue took the better part of an hour to find the location and get him out safely.
Thankfully, he had no injuries so the hedgehog was released on the spot. Dawn then filled the hole with some rocks to prevent the hedgehog, or any other animals, falling in again.
Badgers rescued from 16ft deep sewage tank
A group of badgers was rescued and released back into the wild after they fell 16ft into an empty sewage tank.
Animal rescue officers were alerted to the badgers when the staff at Scottish Water sewage works in Lanark called for assistance in June of 2022.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were called to assist with the rescue as the tank could not be safely accessed without their help. The crew assisted by lowering a ladder into the tank so an officer could climb down and transfer the badgers safely into carriers.
Animal rescue officer, Dawn-Vale Juma said, “One of the male badgers had managed to find shade in a tunnel so was very lively – so lively in fact that he destroyed the bottom of the cage! He was checked over and released on to a badger trail that ran parallel to the facility.”
Unfortunately, the other two badgers were exposed to the sun and were very lethargic and dehydrated. They were caught and taken to the Society’s National Wildlife Rescue Centre at Fishcross to receive the care they needed.
A few days later, after plenty of TLC, they were released back into the wild near to where they were found.
Gannets untangled
The Scottish SPCA successfully rescued two gannets with the help of HM Coastguard on 31 May 2022 after the birds became dangerously tangled in discarded fishing netting.
The gannets were spotted on the shore at Burghead, Moray but when animal rescue officer Lynn Cruickshank got close enough one got up and dragged the other one into the sea. As they were still stuck together, the birds were struggling to swim.
Fearing they would drown, Lynn called the Burghead Coastguard, who were happy to retrieve the birds.
Once they were back on dry land, Lynn caught the birds with her net and wrapped them both in a towel, took control of the beaks and members of the coastguard team tried to cut them free. The gannets were badly tangled in the discarded fishing netting and it wasn’t as easy as they initially hoped it would be, as the net was really tight and they didn’t want to damage their beaks.
Thankfully, they eventually managed to free the birds and Lynn gave them a good check over. Apart from being a bit tired the gannets were fine, so she released them straight away, they both swam off and they all had a cheer!
Cat brought back down to earth from 30ft high crane
On Harbour Road, Troon, a cat was rescued from a 30ft high crane in the Glennon Brothers warehouse on 25 April 2022. Workers heard her meowing and called the Scottish SPCA animal helpline.
Luckily the warehouse workers had access to a cherry picker so they were able to capture the cat using animal rescue officer, Sheena MacTaggart’s, thick gauntlet gloves and cat carrier to get her down safely.
The cat was fit and healthy but unfortunately she wasn’t microchipped so Sheena was unable to let her owners know about her death-defying balancing act!
After a quick pet and a bite to eat, she ran off unfazed by her ordeal.
Oh deer- stuck doe rescued
Scottish SPCA animal rescue officer Lucy Rattray rescued a deer who had somehow become stuck on her back between a wall and a shed in Pitlochry in February 2022.
She had been stuck there for a few hours but, after a few attempts, Lucy was thankfully able to free her.
She had light grazing to her body and was able to be released only a couple of miles away from where she was found.
Cat rescued from sea adventure
The Scottish SPCA received a call in April about a cat who had been discovered aboard an offshore oil rig in a container which had come from Peterhead.
We were alerted to the cat on 21 April, and collected him on 22 April after he continued his adventure with a personal helicopter ride back to shore.
The cat had been living as a stray and frequenting the area around Peterhead Prison for the last five years, but when animal rescue officer, Aimee Findlay, scanned him for a microchip it turned out he had an owner and had actually been missing from home during that time.
The cat had been nicknamed ‘One-eyed Joe’ by the prison who had been feeding him, but according to his microchip, it turned out his real name was Dexter and he had been missing for five years!
Aimee said, “We are so glad that he was well looked after for the time he was missing, but were even more delighted to be able to reunite him with his original owner thanks to his microchip being up to date.”
Otter left for dead rescued from road
Ballo came in to the Scottish SPCA National Wildlife Rescue Centre just before Christmas. He'd been hit by a car near Kinross. Heartbreakingly, people were driving over him and past him. Thankfully one person noticed his head was moving.
Amazingly, he didn't have a single break or fracture and all of his teeth were intact. Ballo had a gash on his face and nose which needed treatment, but luckily he started eating well so all of his medication could be put in his food.
He was in the care of the wildlife hospital for a few weeks until his face healed, he gained weight and became strong and fit enough to survive in the wild.
Ballo was then released near to where he was found
Owl rescued from food waste truck
In November a tawny owl was saved after being discovered in the back of a food waste truck in Glasgow.
He was in a terrible state when he arrived at the Scottish SPCA’s National Wildlife Rescue Centre and covered in food waste, but fortunately no other injuries had occurred.
The wildlife team worked hard to clean him up and, after some TLC, he was released back into the wild.
Cub outfoxed by a fence rescued
Animal rescue officer Aidan McIver was called out to a property in Motherwell on 27 April, where a fox cub had got their head stuck in a garden fence.
It’s unknown how long the fox had been there for, and there was no sign of the mother.
Aidan was able to use wire cutters to cut the fence and free the fox, who was taken to the Society’s National Wildlife Rescue Centre to be checked over by a vet.
The fox was then integrated with some of the other foxes in the centre’s care before later being released back in to the wild.
