A hedgehog who won fame for his swimming abilities while being rehabilitated has been reintroduced into the wild.
The Scottish SPCA confirmed that he was released on April 1 after making a full recovery through a hydrotherapy regime.
Phelps was named after the American Olympian and spent 146 days at the National Wildlife Rescue Centre at Fishcross in Clackmannanshire.
Now he has been returned to the wild in a garden in the Angus area where he will be support fed for as long as he hangs around.
Phelps was originally found in Alness last November and was handed over to the SSPCA.
Rescue centre manager Colin Seddon said: “Phelps arrived into our care last November unable to move his hind legs.
“Our vet advised physiotherapy and because hedgehogs curl up when scared, we decided to place him in a shallow bath of water.
“He was closely supervised by Nicola Turnbull, our head of small mammals, and was able to build up strength in his hind legs without having to bear any weight.”
Before leaving the rescue centre he was microchipped so that he can be tracked if he needs help in the future.
Mr Seddon said: “All of our hedgehogs will be microchipped before being released this year so we can identify them if they come back into our care.”
He added: “This will give us important feedback, such as how well they have integrated back into the wild and how long they have survived.”
“Tracking is something we would like to introduce for all of the wild animals we release in the future.”
