Baby badger found frozen solid in woods meets her adoptive brother

Bertha the baby badger found frozen solid in woods meets her adoptive brother, Bartholomew (Pictures: RSPCA)

A baby badger who was found ‘frozen solid’ in the woods now has an adoptive brother to keep her company.

The badger, named Bertha, was found by a dog walker in Norfolk woodland earlier this year – with her rescuer initially thinking she was dead.

When she went to check on the tiny creature, the dog walker said she saw Bertha move her paw ever so slightly, so she popped her inside her jacket to keep her warm and took her to her local RSPCA branch.

RSPCA inspector Dan Bradshaw said poor Bertha ‘probably wouldn’t have lasted much longer’ if she hadn’t been sniffed out, but weeks later she weighs more than one kilo after being fed with formula milk round the clock.

It’s unknown what happened to her mother, but experts suspect she could have been injured, or perhaps abandoned her cub due to inexperience.

And Bertha now has a little brother, as another orphaned badger named Bartholomew was paired up with her so the animals can maintain their wild instincts.

Evangelos Achilleos, manager of the East Winch wildlife centre where the badgers call home, said: ‘Our badger cub has a new adopted brother!

‘Bartholomew came from East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Animal Service where he was found orphaned.

Bertha the baby badger was fed formula around the clock to give her the best chance of survival (Pictures: RSPCA/Twitter)

‘The two have been introduced and are being very vocal and feeding well.

‘They are still very young and very delicate, and hope they will grow well, but it is still early days.’ We are going through lots of powdered milk (Royal Canin) so if anyone is able to donate any to us via our Amazon wish list we would be extremely grateful!’

The cubs will remain together at the centre for a number of months until they are old enough to be released back into the wild.

Badger cubs can remain dependent on their mothers for some time after leaving their sett at between eight to ten weeks old.

The RSPCA asks that anyone who spots a dead badger reports it to the Badger Trust, as she may be a mother whose cubs depend on her.

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