Be careful what you wish for

Posted on by

Over the 2 years that I have been living here on my farm I have been wishing to see a porcupine.  I know they are here because I pick up their quills and I see their spoor, yet I had never seen one on my land.  It had become quite a challenge for me and I told anyone who would listen about my plight to see one.

This morning as I was going to work I spotted one trying to squeeze under the fence.  I was so thrilled.

This afternoon when I got home, he was still there, so my alarm bells began to ring.  I snuck up really close to him only to see a gash on his back.

I managed to find some help from a nearby friend and we went in after the porcupine. At the same time I called the Moholoholo Animal Rehabilitation Center who advised me to get the porky to them as soon as I could.

Once we got in really close he kept on putting up his quills so it was quite dangerous, and it was then that we saw that he was caught in a snare.  My friend untied the snare off the bush it was tied to and we used the snare to get the porky onto my bakkie (pick-up).

and we drove him through to the rehabilitation center where they were waiting for us.  Here you can see his terrible wounds caused by the snare

The poor boy was so stressed.  Brian Jones from Moholoholo met us and sedated the porcupine while it was still on the back of my vehicle.

and when he was fast asleep

he was moved into the operating room where Brian removed the snare

All the students at the center (volunteers) were called in to look and learn and assist.

There were two vet nurses who were then tasked with cleaning up the wound and removing all the dead tissue.

Tonight he will sleep in this cage

and tomorrow they will have to decide if he is going to be ok or will need to be euthanized.

Unfortunately, due to limited resources, and the fact that these animals are not endangered, my beautiful porcupine might be put down.

At least tonight he will have a pain-free sleep and is free of that horrible wire.

Thank you to all at the Moholoholo Animal Rehab Center.

UPDATE:  Thank you to some incredible donors as well as Pick n Pay for coming forward with funding.  Porky will not be euthanized now and there are enough funds to pay for his care.

 

9 thoughts on “Be careful what you wish for”

  2. Well done with your brave rescue Jackie – you’re a star – it’s sad that your first encounter should turn out like this …

    I absolutely hate snares and the people who set them as I’ve seen the horrifying consequences too often …

    I do hope Porky makes it but that wound does look serious.

    Like

    Reply ↓

  4. Well done for getting him the medical attention Jackie. Was the snare set on your property? Hate those bloody things. I hope Porky makes it through the night. Lots of love xxx

    Like

    Reply ↓

  7. Well done Jackie…..we have a similar story….we saw a porcupine in our garden a few weeks ago and my husband took some photographs…on looking at them on the computer we saw a piece of wire tied around him.We called our local vet for advice and he loaned us a trap which we set for a few nights enticing him in with corn. We evenually managed to trap him and took him to our vet who anaethetised him to remove the snare. The snare had pierced his trachea and he has been at the vets now for about 3 weeks recovering. We are eagerly awaiting his full recovery so that we can release him again but are just concerned that he may be snared again….Hope your “porky” has recovered…

    Like

    Reply ↓

  9. Hi Jackie, I’m so glad Porky has made it thru the night. Thanks to you and Moholoholo this little guys live to see another day. We have been lucky enough to take a trip to Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre and I can truly say that that was one of THE experiences I will always treasure. And whenever I hear that visitors are going up into your neck of the woods, I tell them to pop in to Moholoholo. Well done both of you!!

    Like

    Reply ↓

Leave a comment