THE HEDGEHOG TRAP

 

THE HEDGEHOG TRAP

It is not the first time and it will not be the last one. When the chimpanzees were babies and I would go with them into the woods, we used to found several hedgehogs. The majority was on trees' branches and the chimpanzees wanted to get them, with no idea of the risk they offer when they are afraid and stick others with their spines.

Months ago a hedgehog entered in Carioca's enclosure, but he was smart and did not get hurt. At this time the one who was caught in the hedgehog trap was Jango. We do not know exactly what happened, because we only found the problem when we saw Jango, early in the morning, covered with spines, and his partner, Junior, was trying to get them off.

In these seasons of heavy rains and storms, a lot of animals are obliged to get out their holes and get lost. Some end up entering in the chimpanzees' enclosures, who chase them. We had already cases of snakes, tegus, lizards, several types of birds, foxes, hares, skunks and owls, but this time with Jango the harm was worse.

In the photos it is possible to see Dr. Camila Gentile pulling out the spines from Jango, some that Junior was not able to remove completely because they broke. So she had to take them out, prescribing medicines to prevent infections and including a wound dressing made by Jango himself in his foot.

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian
President, GAP Project International