A Florida Keys animal farm didn’t expect this to happen after a new critter arrived
When a Florida Keys animal farm took in a hedgehog a few weeks ago, little did handlers expect others would follow.
“It’s not often I get to make this type of announcement, because our policy here at the farm is to spay and neuter all of our animals,” the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook. “We are not here to breed more, we are here to take in animals that need a home.”
Surprise!
The sheriff’s menagerie now has two baby hedgehogs.
How did that happen?
“Unbeknownst to us, when we received Juju the hedgehog on February 11, she was already pregnant! Two weeks ago, she gave birth to two adorable hoglets. Welcome to the world little ones!”
Reaction
And the comments on social media poured in:
▪ “You need to start a contest or something to name them.”
▪ “Wow Have never seen one so tiny. They are so lucky to have been born at the farm.”
▪ “Awwwww!!!!! Can’t wait to meet them!”
▪ “What a beautiful surprise!”
Another recent addition
Earlier in 2023, Squirt, a rescue skunk, landed at the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Animal Farm.
Squirt joined other arrivals at the sheriff’s petting zoo, including Jack the ostrich, Julien the lemur, Kinx the kinkajou and Lala the silver fox.
About the Keys sheriff’s animal farm
▪ The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Children’s Animal Farm is on the grounds of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Stock Island Detention Center, 5501 College Rd. in Key West.
▪ The farm, which now has more than 150 animals, was started in 1994 with a scattering of ducks and chickens in an open area underneath the jail facility.
▪ The farm is open free for the public a couple of times a month.
▪ Monroe County inmates work on the farm., which has grown into one of the Keys’ most beloved but off-the-radar attractions.
▪ In 2019, an inmate with duties on the farm fed the jail’s pet iguana to Irwin the alligator at the petting zoo. Mojo the iguana lived at the animal farm for 13 years before his demise.
