A hefty hedgehog who miscalculated his own size was rescued by firefighters in Suffolk, England, this week after becoming stuck between railings.
Once the RSPCA was notified, firefighters were called to bend the bars and safely free the animal that had become trapped there overnight.
Hedgehogs are short-sighted, which may explain how this poor animal became jammed between the metal bars.
Suffolk firefighters releasing the hedgehog from the gate. RSPCA.
"It is hard to imagine how this little thing got himself into such a tight squeeze. I can only imagine he misjudged the width of the bars, or perhaps did not see them clearly as hedgehogs are short-sighted," Inspector Richard Lythgoe told the BBC. "He was so firmly wedged in between the bars of this gate that the fire crews had to completely stretch them to get him out, and even then all his little spines were squashed down."
Although Lythgoe is an experienced animal rescuer with the RSPCA, he admits that he could not have freed the plump hedgehog without the Suffolk Fire and Rescue officers.
After the hedgehog was checked for injuries, he was released back into the wild.
[H/T: BBC]
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