Blonde bombshell

Rare blondes are much preferred - Image from The Sun

Who doesn't like blondes. Apparently even foxes, badgers, dogs and other bullies love blondes too, which is why a rare blonde baby hedgehog was mauled and left struggling to live. The hedgehog, which is not an albino, was found in Gobowen, Shropshire, England and immediately taken to the RSPCA at Stapeley Grange Centre in Cheshire. When she was handed in, in July, she was just a few months old and weighed a meagre 110g. Dr Andrew Kelly, manager of the Cheshire RSPCA, said, "We receive around 600 hedgehogs a year at Stapeley Grange, often orphaned juveniles, but we've never had a blonde hedgehog before." He said she has now tripled her weight and is ready to be released into a special private garden where she can be fed and monitored before she is completely let free into the wild. She doesn't have a name yet because the staff never name wild animals. Blonde hedgehogs are extremely rare and are found mostly on the Channel Island of Alderney where they have become common since a pair were released in the 1960s. Their attractive blondeness is actually caused by a rare recessive gene, which makes them handicapped to survive in the wild because their all too apparent appearance makes them an easy target for predators.

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