Ruben, the 6-year-old boy who rescued a rare albino hedgehog

A 6-year-old boy in England rescued a rare albino hedgehog by taking it to a shelter where volunteers treated him

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Ruben Wiggins is the 6-year-old boy who, having spotted a hedgehog under a car, rescued it by reporting it and having it treated by a shelter dedicated to these animals. The extraordinary thing is that it was a rare specimen of albino hedgehog!

In broad daylight, under a car in Otley, West Yorkshire (England), Ruben noticed a visibly distressed white hedgehog. The child was aware that hedgehogs are not usually around during the day and realized that he needed help.

By involving his mother he managed to get him out and took him to the Prickly Pigs Hedgehog Rescue, a refuge dedicated to these animals. Diane Cook, who manages the organization, said:

"When we got the message through our Facebook page, we were initially puzzled by the description and thought it was possibly an African pygmy hedgehog who had run away from someone's home."

But when they saw it live, the volunteers realized that they were facing a real albino hedgehog who unfortunately was in danger of dying, severely dehydrated, malnourished and infested with ticks, fleas and fly eggs that the vets took hours to remove.

Jack Frost, as the hedgehog was called, after being fed and cared for internal parasites, now she is fine and, once completely recovered, will be released in kind again.

Sources: BBC / The Independent