Les Stocker

You wait a week for a blog post and three come along at once. But I wanted to tell you about somebody special.

Late last night I heard that Les Stocker had died. Les was a man who cared so thoroughly and deeply about wildlife that he and his family devoted their lives to the rescue of sick and injured wild animals. From rescuing a few wild birds and hedgehogs they set up the pioneering wildlife hospital and rescue centre, Tiggywinkles. For decades, animals at Tiggywinkles have been restored to health and returned to the wild or, if they weren't well enough to survive in the big wide world, given a safe place to live. (A deer can cope perfectly well on three legs, but not in the wild. A wealthy friend of Tiggywinkle's with a large estate adopted all the three-legged deer.)

Les led the way for having wildlife care taken seriously. He learned, and shared what he learned. Groundbreaking surgery was carried out and written up in their hospital. Les travelled the world speaking at conferences about what they did. Because of him, wildlife care was put on a professional footing and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons recognised him as an Honorary Member.

When you're writing books about talking animals, you go to your imagination with a bit of help from C S Lewis. When this makes you fascinated with wildlife, or when you're writing about real wild animals - FAWN, for example - you go to Tiggywinkles.

When you help an injured human, they generally know that you're trying to help. Animals don't, they just know that they're in pain and helpless, and they fight. The last time I met Les he had a hefty dressing on one hand. This was by no means his first rescue-related injury. He had been rescuing a trapped badger, and as an experienced animal handler he wore gauntlets. A badger's jaw is a powerful thing, though, and it still managed to bite him. Knowing how dangerous a badger bit can be, Les went to hospital for injections and a dressing, but the bite still got infected. Just an occupational hazard.

There is a guard of honour at the gates of heaven. It's made up of hedgehogs, deer, rabbits, foxes, and wild birds. There is a personal appearance by St Francis and wild applause from the angels as Les Stocker walks in.