Introduction
When I first became interested in becoming a licensed wildlife
rehabilitator in 1984 I had done what a lot of people have done after
finding an injured, orphaned, or displaced creature; I brought it home,
then realized that I had no idea where to go from there. Most of the
time I fumbled around, especially with orphaned babies, and in spite of
my best efforts, they would die, leaving me feeling quite guilty and
inadequate. In the mid 1980’s I became acquainted with a couple who for
ten years had taken wildlife into their home to care for until it was
well enough to be released back into the wild. I decided to volunteer
to pick up animals in my area, and do initial first aid until they
could be transported to their shelter. This arrangement worked for
quite sometime, giving me the opportunity to learn as I went along. In
the meantime I applied for my rehabilitator’s permit with the state of
Florida and within a few weeks I received my permit even though I had
no practical experience.
The ink was barely
dry on my permit before the couple who I had relied on to guide my
every move decided to divorce, leaving me the only licensed
rehabilitator in a twenty five mile radius to do all species of
wildlife. All of a sudden people were bringing me migratory seabirds
that I had never seen before much less know what to do for them.
Injured animals, orphaned babies, you name it and I’m standing there
with a glazed look on my face, without a clue. I managed to survive,
but unfortunately some of my patients did not. There was no one to turn
to. Veterinarians rarely know much about wildlife and most do not want
to know. It’s extremely frustrating to really try to do your best to
save a creature only to find out later that it died because you should
have done something else. Trial and error and a wonderful group called
the International Wildlife Rehab. Council who offer literature on
raising, care and release of everything in the wild has allowed me to
gain the knowledge that I could have received nowhere else. Over the
years I’ve had hundreds of calls from people who are genuinely
concerned, but have no idea what to do when they find wildlife in
distress or if it is really in distress or exhibiting normal behavior.
That’s the reason for
this book. It is impossible to cover everything necessary to
rehabilitate wildlife successfully. Only experience and time can do
that, but I hope to give you the basic necessities and hope that common
sense will do the rest.
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