Hedgehog triplets born in five-star luxury

Staff at Edinburgh's Prestonfield left stunned by delivery in hotel reception.

21 October 2009 14:42 PM

A choosy mother chose a five-star maternity suite in one of Edinburgh's plushest hotels - even though she was giving birth to hedgehog triplets.

Guests at the Prestonfield were stunned when the critter walked into the hotel's reception and settled on the carpet.

However, they were even more surprised when she gave birth to three spiky babies before taking a snooze behind a basket of logs beside the hotel's open fire.

Staff from the SSPCA rushed to the five-star venue to care for the creatures.

Now, the seven-week-old hoglets are said to be doing well and are living with their mum at a rescue centre in Fife.

Centre Manager Colin Seddon said: "This was a very unusual place for the hedgehog to choose to have her babies.

"She was obviously confused and knowing that she was about to give birth, decided to find the nearest warm and sheltered place, which just happened to be a very plush hotel.

"We were worried when she came in because it is not uncommon for a mother hedgehog to eat her young if she is disturbed or feels threatened, so we were obviously very keen to avoid that happening.

"Initially, we kept the family warm and dry and provided them with food and water, but we left them in almost complete isolation to minimise the risk of cannibalism.

"Thankfully this approach has proved successful and all three hoglets are now seven weeks old and ready to be released back to the wild with their mother."

James Thomson, proprietor of the Prestonfield Hotel, admitted staff had been surprised by the delivery, but said: "The wellbeing of all our visitors to Prestonfield is of the utmost importance to us and so we are all really thrilled to hear that both mother and all three hoglets are healthy and are now ready to be released back home.

"We are just glad that they checked in and enjoyed a little five-star luxury along the way."

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/east-central/131746-hedgehog-triplets-born-in-five-star-luxury/