Lindsey to the Animal Rescue Blue Peter Bite

This is Blue Peter but mini.

Expect epic adventures, makes, bakes, badges, pets,

presenters and your post.

We've only got five minutes, so get ready for your Blue Peter adventure.

The British countryside is home to many wild animals

including birds, mammals and a fair few reptiles.

But, when wild animals become sick or injured,

what can be done to help them?

Well, I've come somewhere very special to find out.

This is Tiggywinkles, one of the world's leading wildlife hospitals.

It was set up almost 40 years ago by Sue and Les Stocker

and so far it's treated over 250,000 animals.

-Hi, Les, how are you?

-Hiya, Lindsey.

-Good to meet you.

Thank you for having me here.

This place is amazing, it seems huge.

It just keeps growing and growing and growing. It's amazing.

Now, tell me, how many animals have you got in at the moment?

-We've got, well, 1,010 at the moment.

-Wow.

It's our busy time of the year and it's baby birds everywhere.

Well, I'd love to have a look around if that's OK.

-Yes, I'd like to show you some.

-Let's go.

So, Les, tell me, how do the animals end up here?

Either the general public bring them in

in cardboard boxes

or the police will bring them in, the fire brigade, the RSPCA.

Absolutely everybody brings animals in to us.

All the animals that are brought in are treated by the experienced

staff, with the aim of one day releasing them back into the wild.

-Right.

-So, what happens in here?

Where are we?

-This is the main hedgehog room.

-There's loads! This is amazing.

I'd like to introduce you to Sharon. This is Lindsey.

Hi, Sharon, how you doing?

So, who've we got in here, Sharon?

So, I was going to show you this one. This guy was burned.

-He was actually found in a bonfire.

-Oh, no.

So, obviously he made a nice house there, and... So this is him here,

-you can actually...

-Do you know, what's weird is that you can

-actually smell bonfire a little bit, can't you?

-Yep.

Oh! And so will he recover fully?

Yeah, as long as he gets a full set of spines back...

-He'll be all right.

-He can go back to the wild.

As well as treating all sorts of different animals...

I like this one. He's my favourite.

..the team are also on call 24 hours a day

in case an animal needs to be rescued.

Today they're planning to release a male deer

they've nursed back to health.

PHONE RINGS

But, before they can get ready, a call comes in about another deer

that's been badly injured and needs help.

-Let's go.

-OK.

We've been given a rough location of where the deer was spotted.

But the final search needs to be done on foot.

Do you know what, this is exciting but it's also a little bit

nerve-racking, cos we don't really know what state we're going to find

this deer in.

Hopefully it's OK.

And, hopefully, we'll be able to catch it,

get it in the box and get it back to the centre really safely.

Trying to find a well-camouflaged deer in thick undergrowth

takes some doing.

But, eventually...

He's there, he's there, he's there.

He's there, I've got him. He's there.

I found him. I found him.

He's just there.

Sharon knows exactly what to do and she takes control of the situation.

OK, we've got him.

To stop the animal getting upset,

we gently cover its head using a towel.

-OK.

-So, that'll calm him down now.

-So, he's just really stressed, isn't he?

-Yeah, and then, so...

-OK.

-..you want to go and grab the box for us?

-Yeah.

The team realise the deer is very poorly indeed and rush it

back to the vets at the centre as quickly as possible.

They will do everything they can to try and save it.

For now, there's nothing more the rescue team can do.

So, we return to today's original task

of releasing an adult male deer back into the wild.

The deer is carefully transferred into

a trailer to start its very special journey.

Got it?

It's time to lock this up, drive the van

and get him back into the wild.

We head to a nearby forest

where the deer can settle in to its new surroundings.

-We've had this deer with us for about two years now.

-Wow.

So, he's all ready to go back to the wild.

Is this quite a big moment for you?

-No, it is, bless him.

-Saying goodbye.

So, what we will do is drop these bits down in a minute.

And then we'll open up the other doors and then we just stand

-back out the way. Are you ready?

-Yep.

And then this door.

-Like that.

-He's off.

-There he goes, he's just checking out which way he's going to go.

-Yep.

Off you go.

Aw, he's gone off into the little bluebells.

My time at the centre has been amazing.

But it's also tinged with sadness

when I hear the young deer we rescued earlier

was simply too poorly to be saved.

But being involved in the incredible work the team do,

and seeing the animals they are able to help, has been so rewarding.

I'm really proud to have played my part.

Join in every Thursday on CBBC.