Wildlife Rehabilitation Flashcards
1
Q
Who are the stakeholders in wildlife rehabilitation?
A
- the animals
- the public who find the animals
- the government agencies that regulate wildlife
- carers/organizations
- veterinarians
2
Q
Expectations of government agencies
A
- Maintain oversight, but not primary responsibility
- Produce rules and guidelines for wildlife rehab
- Provide financial support for care organisations to a moderate extent
3
Q
Carers: Organisation vs. individual
A
Organisation
- well structured policies
- turn over fairly significant
- requires training of staff
Individual
- expectations are all over the place
- can be very opinionated, vocal and critical
4
Q
Rules for wildlife rehab
A
- Feral species must be destroyed
- Return animals within close proximity to where they were found
- Can’t release with infectious disease or injury that will compromise survival
- Release in timely manner
- Cannot be kept as pets
5
Q
How can rehab do more harm than good in some cases?
A
- Animals die from starvation
- Disease transmission
6
Q
Why do we do it?
A
- Public expectations
- Moral conscience or passion for wildlife
- Disease surveillance
- Saving endangered species or learning to save them
7
Q
Caring for sick and injured animals
A
- Treatment (only if they can return to 100% function, otherwise - euthanise)
- Recuperation
- Preparation for release
8
Q
Caring for orphaned animals
A
- Parenting
- Preparation for release
9
Q
Which orphans are most likely to have a positive outcome?
A
- Those that are hard-wired
- Lease territorial
- Do not or not allowed to imprint
10
Q
Preparation for release of orphans
A
- Learn species behaviour (feeding & socialisation) - best if they can see adult behaviour
- Issues of predator avoidance
- Soft release programs most successful
11
Q
Preparation for release of adults
A
- Key is fitness - need to be able to catch food
- Release where found (genetics, familiar area)
- Provide shelter (sometimes food)
12
Q
Example: Wombats
A
- During care, survival was influenced by age at admission, weight at admission, attitude and response to treatment
- 62% survived until end of study
13
Q
Example: Wombats - which factors had NO impact on outcome?
A
- Initial injury
- Amount of care
- Gender
- Raising in pairs
- Supplemental feed
- Season of release
- Number of days in care
14
Q
Example: Wombats - which factors DID impact on outcome?
A
- Age of joey (older better)
- Response to treatment
- Extent of imprinting (less better)
- Post release monitoring - increased survival rate
15
Q
Example: Wombats - causes of death
A
- Dog attack
- Wombat attack
- Burrow collapse
