Charity bosses have warned their supplies to look after wildlife in Norfolk are 'dangerously low' - at a time when they are braced for their busiest month of the year.
Calls about wildlife to the RSPCA in the East of England peaked at more than 3,600 last June, with 675 of those calls from Norfolk and 554 from Suffolk.
And the animal charity is appealing for donations of old bed linen, towels and newspapers to its East Winch Wildlife Centre near King's Lynn.
The RSPCA received more than 204,9741 calls about wildlife in 2018 across England and Wales last year; with 24,1962 of those from the East of England alone.
Nearly half (93,097) of all the calls were received in the peak summer months May (28,211 calls), June (34,651) and July (30,235), the height of the breeding season for many wild animals.
The top five species the calls related to were pigeons (36,629 calls), red foxes (24,352 calls), gulls undefined (23,467 calls), hedgehogs (10,642 calls) and deer (9152).
The RSPCA's scientific officer Evie Button said: "May, June and July are our busiest months for wildlife, so our officers, centre staff and volunteers are flat out at this time of year.
"Caring for young animals at our wildlife centres can be a round-the-clock job. Some of the most vulnerable animals need to be hand-fed every few hours.
"From newborn fox cubs which have lost their mother, to injured blackbirds or tiny orphaned 'hoglets', the RSPCA is very busy caring for and rehabilitating animals so they can hopefully be re-introduced to the wild."
RSPCA officers collected 59,428 wild animals in 2018, peaking in June and July, with 9,688 and 10,388 collections respectively.
As well as the most common of Britain's wildlife, the RSPCA was contacted last year about more unusual or rare animals including a Natterer's bat, a natterjack toad and a hen harrier.
To help wildlife in the garden this summer you can:
- Put out fresh, clean water for drinking and bathing
- Take care using lawn-mowers or strimmers and keeping pesticides out of reach of animals
- Tidy away unused sports and garden netting to prevent animals getting tangled
To donate towels, sheets, face cloths and newspapers to RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre, take them to the centre in Gayton Road, East Winch, Norfolk, PE32 1LG.
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