A hedgehog in eastern England narrowly escaped after falling three feet into a water meter shaft and becoming pinned beneath the unit's plastic parts.
A nearby resident found the animal only because they checked the meter at just the right moment.
Here's what to know
In Great Ellingham, RSPCA animal rescue officer Ben Hart was called in after a member of the public found the stuck hedgehog, the Eastern Daily Press reported.
According to Hart, the Sept. 6 effort lasted around 90 minutes. He said the hedgehog appeared to have dropped through a loose lid on the meter before getting stuck in a narrow area below the plastic components.
Because the water company could not come out, rescuers had to figure out how to free the animal without causing harm or breaking the meter, Hart said.
They eventually relied on an old paint roller frame. After taking off the roller and taping the exposed metal, Hart used the frame as a hook to ease the hedgehog out.
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More background
Hart said there was no way to tell how long the hedgehog had been trapped below ground, and he worried the animal could be in poor shape.
Once it was freed, he brought it to the RSPCA's East Winch Wildlife Centre in King's Lynn to address concerns that it was dehydrated and malnourished.
What can I do?
People who want to support safer neighborhoods for animals can also explore resources on local environmental action and donate to environmental causes.
As Hart put it, per the Eastern Daily Press: "He's incredibly lucky that someone happened to go to check the meter, otherwise he may well have died down there. I haven't checked my meter for months so it was certainly a case of right time, right place in this scenario."
Where can I learn more?
This rescue is one of several stories from the U.K. showing both the dangers hedgehogs face and the efforts to protect them. The articles below look at other rescues, shifting garden populations, and new attempts to track the species' decline.
• In the U.K., rescuers found a week-old hedgehog near death after heavy rain.
• At a British vet clinic, a hedgehog turned up 12 hours past its usual bedtime.
• Across the U.K., gardeners say hedgehogs are returning to gardens after years of decline.
• But experts warn common garden hazards still threaten hedgehogs and their young.
• Scientists in Britain are using artificial intelligence to track hedgehog populations as conservation worries deepen.
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