Frozen baby badger doing well in Norfolk, says RSPCA

The cub is being fed formula by hand

A tiny badger cub found "frozen solid" in a wood is "headed in the right direction" after being hand-reared by experts.

The orphan was found by a dog walker in Lincolnshire in February and kept warm in a jacket until the RSPCA arrived.

Staff at the charity's East Winch Wildlife Centre in Norfolk said the cub, named Bertha, was gaining weight.

They hope to introduce her to another orphaned badger so the pair can grow up together.

When the dog walker initially spotted the cub in woodland near Market Rasen on 13 February, she thought it was dead.

But when she saw its paw move, she cradled it in her coat and called the animal charity.

The badger cub was believed to be less than two weeks old when she was found

RSPCA inspector Dan Bradshaw said if the cub had not been found "she probably wouldn't have lasted much longer".

He said once the cub had warmed up she was calling out for food and he took her to the wildlife centre at East Winch, near King's Lynn.

The badger has opened her eyes since being brought into the hospital

Staff estimated the baby was less than two weeks old when found, as she had not yet opened her eyes.

However, they pledged to "do our best to rear this little one".

Now, several weeks on, the centre posted on Twitter to say the cub was "growing well, gaining weight and headed in the right direction - we are doing our best with her".

Evangelos Achilleos, centre manager, said: "The little badger cub is doing well so far and gaining weight and is now over 900g (almost 2lb).

"She is very vocal and is going through lots of formula [milk].

"We are not sure why our badger cub was found alone, one thought is that the mother was injured and the cub crawled out of the sett to find her, or potentially the sow was inexperienced and abandoned the cub.

"She - nicknamed Bertha - is still fragile given her age, but she has just opened her eyes - we are of course doing all we can to give her a fighting chance."

The RSPCA hopes if another orphaned cub is found, they can grow up as companions

According to the RSPCA, badger cubs are typically born from the beginning of February to late April and stay below ground and do not emerge from their sett until they are eight to 10 weeks old.