People Spot Strange Blue Ball Scurrying Through Their Yard

A family was out in their garden one day when they suddenly saw something small and blue scurry by. Concerned, and a little baffled, they contacted the RSPCA, who quickly came out to investigate — and found it was a tiny hedgehog, completely covered in thick, blue paint. 

Concerned for the poor animal’s health, animal collection officer Clara Scully secured the hedgehog and rushed her to the RSPCA’s West Hatch Wildlife Center, so she could get cleaned up as quickly as possible.

“Thankfully she was still alive and is now getting the help she needs,” Scully said in a press release. “We’re unsure what happened to her — whether she was painted intentionally, or if she fell into the paint somehow.”

Due to her blue coloring, staff at the shelter decided to name the hedgehog Sonic, after the popular video game character. Removing the paint has been an ongoing process, but luckily Sonic has been a good sport about it, and seems to be doing well in the RSPCA’s care. 

“Sonic has been eating well and is getting stronger,” Dr. Bel Deering, center manager at the RSPCA West Hatch Wildlife Center, said in a press release. “She had to be anesthetized to have the substance removed and there is still a blue tinge on the spines. The substance was very rubbery and hard to remove. It was quite caustic and so where it touched the skin there are some sore patches that will need to be monitored.”

Once Sonic is completely healed, she will be released back into the wild, but it may take some time for her to reach that point. 

Hedgehogs are small, active creatures, and it can be very easy for them to get into things like cans of paint or other gardening supplies. The RSPCA is asking people to take care when storing their outdoor supplies, to prevent accidents like this from occurring with other wild animals in the future.

“We urge the public to become more hedgehog-aware,” Llewelyn Lowen, scientific information officer at the RSPCA, said in a press release. “Simple things like checking before you start strimming [using a weed trimmer] or using your garden fork, remembering to put sports netting away when it’s not in use and keeping drains covered can really make a difference and help protect the welfare of these iconic creatures.”