A baby "hedgehog" which was rescued and taken to animal hospital left staff giggling after it turned out to be a hat bobble.
An animal lover said she found the "injured" creature on the pavement and "spent a night looking after it" before taking it to Lower Moss Nature Reserve and Wildlife Hospital, Knutsford.
The well-meaning rescuer lined a box with newspaper and placed a small plate of food next to it.
But after she handed over the animal last week, they discovered the hoglet was in fact a "faux furry friend".
A baby 'hedgehog' which was rescued and taken to animal hospital left staff giggling after it turned out to be a hat bobble
Kennedy News
The decorative ball, which actually belonged to a woolly hat, left hospital manager Janet Kotze unable to "believe what she was seeing".
Kotze informed the rescuer about the discovery, before she replied: "You're joking."
The hospital manager said: "It was the first admission of the day. The lady came in with a box, she said she had found this baby hedgehog on the pavement and it was cold and she picked it up.
"I was alarmed as it's very early for baby hedgehogs. I opened the box and, well, I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing.
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"I thought it's definitely not a hedgehog, perhaps it's some other kind of a fluffy creature. I realised it wasn't animated at all and I picked it up and obviously with the weight I could feel that it wasn't a hedgehog or any animal at all.
"She was very sweet, bless her, her heart was in the right place. She took the box from me and left quite quickly.
"I found it funny afterwards but I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing because to me a hedgehog is obviously a hedgehog."
The charity in Cheshire offers educational trips for schools and other groups and cares for around 2,000 injured animals every year.
An animal lover said she found the 'injured' creature on the pavement and 'spent a night looking after it'
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Kotze added that if people do see hedgehogs out during the day time, it is likely a sign they are distressed.
"It’s a golden rule that hedgehogs shouldn’t be out in daytime, especially little ones like that, but she did absolutely the right thing - aside from the fact that it wasn’t a hedgehog," she said.
"Mostly if they’re found out in the daytime in the open, there’s definitely something wrong and they should be taken to rescue."