Interrupted Lives: Welfare Considerations in Wildlife Rehabilitation
Each year in the United States, thousands of sick, injured, or displaced wild animals are presented to individuals or organizations who have either a federal or state permit that allows them to care for these animals with the goal of releasing them back to the wild. The purpose of this review is to demonstrate the […]
Interrupted Lives: Welfare Considerations in Wildlife Rehabilitation
Each year in the United States, thousands of sick, injured, or displaced wild animals are presented to individuals or organizations who have either a federal or state permit that allows them to care for these animals with the goal of releasing them back to the wild. The purpose of this review is to demonstrate the […]
Never be mute about bird welfare: Swanning around with environmental enrichment
Environmental enrichment (EE) is commonly provided to animals managed under human care, being beneficial to behavioral diversity and improving animal welfare. Use of EE appears to be particularly beneficial to individual wild animals spending a short period of time in captivity, for example, as part of conservation or rehabilitation programs. This paper documents a case […]
Southern Sea Otter Rehabilitation: Lessons and Impacts from the Monterey Bay Aquarium
As biodiversity continues to decline across the globe, conservation of wildlife species and the ecosystems they inhabit is more important than ever. When species dwindle, ecosystems that depend on them are also impacted, often leading to a decrease in the life-giving services healthy ecosystems provide to humans, wildlife, and the global environment. Methods of wildlife […]
Enrichment reduces stereotypical behaviors and improves foraging development in rehabilitating Eastern Pacific Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina richardii)
There is empirical support for the efficacy of enrichment in decreasing stereotypical behaviors and increasing naturalistic behaviors in laboratory, agricultural, and zoological settings. However, little research has been done on the possible value of enrichment in facilitating appropriate behavioral development of rescued wildlife in rehabilitative captivity. Eastern Pacific harbor seal pups (Phoca vitulina richardii) often […]
New perspectives on wildlife rehabilitation
A survey of wildlife rehabilitation in South Africa: is there a need for improved management?
The focus of wildlife rehabilitation is the survival of the individual animal, often leading to rehabilitators being in conflict with government wildlife officials, who regulate the industry and whose focus is on the security of entire wildlife communities. In South Africa, wildlife rehabilitation has been the focus of recent attention from the general public, government […]
Extended Abstract: Infrared Thermography as a Tool in Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation and Research
Post-release survival of hand-reared pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus spp)
There is very little known about the post-release survival of hand-reared pipistrelle bats (Pipistrellus spp). We radio-tracked 12 pipistrelle bats, hand-reared and released under three different protocols: i) limited pre-release flight training and over-wintering (n = 5); ii) prolonged pre-release flight training, but with limited space (n = 2) and iii) prolonged pre-release flight training […]
Factors affecting the likelihood of release of injured and orphaned woodpigeons (Columba palumbus)
Very little is known about the fate of the large numbers of injured and orphaned wild animals taken to wildlife rehabilitation centres in the UK each year. We reviewed the reasons for admission and outcomes for 2,653 woodpigeons (Columba palumbus), 68% of which were juveniles, brought to an RSPCA wildlife rehabilitation centre in Cheshire, UK […]