Meet Jabba, the fattest hedgehog you’ll probably ever see. He was found by a woman who took him in as a baby and fed him. Now he weighs almost 4 pounds — three times the size of the average hedgehog — after growing up on a diet of canned dog food and dried mealworms. Jabba’s problem is that he’s so fat he can no longer curl up in a ball and has trouble walking. His owner agreed to hand him over to the Oak and Furrows Wildlife Rescue to prepare him for a return to the wild. After one week at the center, Jabba lost 1½ ounces on a diet of puppy food and water. He is also in a large enclosure where his food is kept at the opposite end, encouraging him to exercise. The staff at the wildlife center is confident that Jabba will be able to do a protective roll-up in the next few months.
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| Jabba (right) compared to a normal-size hedgehog |
