Frog Friend

  Continue reading the main story

Related Stories

13-foot python found in Florida shedWatch

How does a snake eat a crocodile?

Snake bursts after gobbling gator

Giant Burmese pythons have map and compass senses which help them travel "home" over vast distances, scientists have been surprised to discover. 

http://www.nwrawildlife.org/job-search

https://theiwrc.org/members/member/job-postings-and-animal-placement/browse-categories?category_id=3/jobline

http://www.indeed.ca - Surprisingly, I’ve found more wildlife jobs on this site than any other.

http://www.goodwork.ca/jobs (Canada)

If there’s a centre you’re interested in and they aren’t hiring, contact them to double check. Most centres hire internally without ever having to post a position. If they aren’t hiring, start volunteering for them, it’s a great way to get your foot in the door and to see how you like the organization.

Good luck! 

Transatlantic great white shark 'may be pregnant'.

It really sucks to find an injured animal, and even more so when you don’t know what to do. Thankfully, I do know what to do but it’s awful finding them injured or orphaned and so hopefully if you can come across one in need, this will help you with who to call.

First off, before you do anything call your local wildlife rehabilitation centre.

This site lists centres in Canada: http://www.naturecanada.ca/enews_july07_sickanimal.asp

For other areas, the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council has great information: https://theiwrc.org/resources/emergency

For me, I know what to do when I find injured wildlife. When I find domestic animals, for example a stray dog, then I have less of an idea of what to do. One thing that has helped me is that I’ve put the numbers to a few local rescues in my phone, so when I do find strays then I know who to call for advice.

Have any questions, ask away! 

"One Saskatoon woman is calling for legislation after witnessing a pick-up truck full of dead coyotes driving in the city.

This photo was taken in December near the corner of Idylwyld Drive and 24th Street. (Photo courtesy John Thronberg)

If you see a baby hare, leave it right there!*

Spring is on its way, and with it comes an influx of wildlife babies that are born. Sadly, many are “kidnapped” by well-meaning humans who think that if they are alone, that they have been orphaned or abandoned by their parent(s). This is not true! 

Baby hares are often kidnapped in the spring and summer months and often it leads to their death. Humans think these adorable youngsters have been left by their mother because they are alone, but this is normal for them. 

When hares are born, they are born without a scent so they are less likely to be found by predators. The mother intentionally leaves them alone throughout the day, returning only a couple of times (typically dusk and dawn) to feed them. She knows that the more time she spends with them, the more likely she is to attract predators to her young. 

Wild hares are precocial, meaning they are born with their eyes open and they are fully furred, unlike domestic rabbits. Within a day of being born they are able to move around and even nibble on grass. They are adapted to being alone, and it’s completely normal for them to run around and be in a different spot from where their mother left them. She will find her young within a block of where she left them, if not further. 

If you find a baby hare in the road, or in a window well etc. it is okay to pick them up and put them in a safe spot close to where you found them. Mothers do not reject their young if the scent of humans is on them. One thing you can do is to rub the baby down with grass as this will aid in removing some of the human scent which may attract predators, such as cats, dogs, and coyotes.

Never attempt to look after wildlife yourself, if you find one that is injured or you believe is truly orphaned then please contact a wildlife rehabilitator in your area. Sadly, hares die very easily in captivity due to high stress levels and when they are young it’s incredibly hard to replicate the formula their mother gives them. More often than not, they die in captivity and many times it could be prevented if people would leave them alone in the wild where they belong.

If you see a baby hare, please, please leave it alone. If you are concerned, contact a local wildlife rehabilitator for more information before intervening. If it’s in a road or something similar, put it in a safe spot and then call a rehabilitation centre for more advice.

Have questions, ask away! :)

* Showing the damage to a Snowy Owl that had flown over a methane flare. In 2013, I presented at the National Wildlife Rehabilitation Council conference about the damage to birds from methane flares. 

Working with animals has always been a dream of mine, and I never really knew what avenue I wanted to take in the field until I started volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation centre. 

It’s not easy getting a career in wildlife rehabilitation, and so I wanted to share a few tips. I started as a volunteer and 6 years on I’m still in the field and loving it! 

Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer! I cannot stress this enough, but if you are wanting to get experience in wildlife rehabilitation then find your local centre and donate your time. Not only will you get vital knowledge of the field, but you’ll also see if this is something you want to pursue as a career or not. I know many people who would rather volunteer at a centre than actually work there - the job isn’t for everyone.

Never stop learning! While experience from a centre is great, each centre is different and there is usually more than one way to do something. Also, wildlife rehabilitation is a relatively new field and new practices and procedures are being introduced all the time. * Take the Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation Course by the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC). This is available in Canada and the USA throughout the year. The IWRC also have classes available for you to take online. * Attend conferences! The National Wildlife Rehabilitation Council and International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council have annual conferences open to all. They provide a great array of lectures and hands-on workshops.

Network! It can be intimidating to strike up conversation at conferences, trainings, or even wildlife talks at your local nature club, but it’s so beneficial. If I hadn’t made the effort to get to know others, I wouldn’t have been as fortunate with the opportunities and offers I’ve had. A strong effort should be made to connect with other centres in your area. Some centres specialize in certain species, and so for the benefit of the animal you may need to transfer patients to them. Weird cases always come in and you never know when you may need to call on others for advice, get to know your peers!

I hope this helps if you’re interested in wildlife rehabilitation! Even if you only want to volunteer in the field, attending the conferences and taking courses can be a huge help to the animals in your care. 

Ask away if you have questions!

Now, for my own thoughts. I love being a wildlife rehabilitator, it’s my dream job. I’m able to care for animals in need and then ideally release them back into the wild. However, not all animals can be released due to their injuries. I’ve seen many gruesome injuries and for any injury that cannot be healed, the most humane thing is appropriate and humane euthanasia. Depending on the centre, you may have to be able to provide euthanasia to the animals in your care when required (obviously after a proper assessment has been done). 

Any great plan of having a work/life balance in this field of work are pretty much null, especially in the spring and summer when most centres get their influx of patients due to orphans being admitted. I don’t advocate for not having a balance, I’m just realistic in that most centres can’t afford all the staff that are needed to ensure this can happen for everyone in busy times of year. I know it’s not healthy, but working 12-14 hours everyday for x amount of days in a row is the norm.

Making plans outside of work is usually a risk, except for December-March, or so I’ve found. I forget the amount of times I’ve had to cancel something because an eagle (it’s almost always an eagle late at night) was on its way to the centre, or an animal in care has crashed and needs intensive treatment. There’s been many a time when the day was just too busy and I need to stay and finish up cleaning ... ahh, cleaning!

I’ve never cleaned so much in my life as I have being a rehabber. Having a clean centre is incredibly important, it’s a hospital for wildlife. Would you want to stay in a dirty hospital? I wouldn’t. While the wildlife may not have an understanding of cleanliness, they are recovering in our care and their immune systems are comprised, we have to do all we can to aid in their recovery. 

Being a rehabber does not involve cuddling cute animals all day long like so many people think. Reputable rehabbers do all they can to avoid the wildlife in their care becoming habituated to humans. When an animal is habituated to humans their chance of survival reduces dramatically. Another key thing is that they are extremely stressed in our care, they aren’t used to being confined and they see us humans as predators. Reducing contact = reducing stress. 

A big thing few people consider is that you have to feed all the patients a diet as close to one they would have in the wild. For carnivores, this involves dead food. A Rough-legged hawk (my favourite hawk species) cannot live off berries and seeds while in captivity, it has to be fed food such as dead mice and quail. It sucks, but this is what is needed for carnivorous species.

Besides the daily care of the patients, there is always admin work to be done unless you’re at a centre where you have enough staff to do that. For me, my day consisted of looking after the patients in care (feeding, cleaning cages, cleaning the centre), and then getting started on filing charts, answering calls from members of the public, replying to emails, and constantly trying to update and research protocols. Wildlife rehabilitation is a relatively new field and there are always new things popping up, new formulas, new techniques on housing species etc. etc. It’s great, but it’s hard to keep on top of. No matter how hard it is, you have to do your best in keeping on top of the new research to better the care of the animals.

Despite all the hours and the passion you put into your work, you won’t get rich in this field. Most rehabbers need a second job to get by (I tried this, it was a nightmare), and almost everyday will be hard, but it’s worth it. It’s worth all the hardship to give the animals that are admitted a second chance. 95% of the injuries to wildlife that I’ve seen are human related, whether it’s being hit by a car, hitting a power line, hitting a window etc.

Would I recommend wildlife rehabilitation as a career? To some people, yes I would, but it is definitely not a career suited to everyone that has an interest in it. I believe to a certain extent you have to be a natural at it. After training dozens of new staff, interns, and volunteers, you can definitely tell who has a gift for this field. Sometimes it’s as simple as some people are just more passionate about it than others.

You know it’s worth it when you release an animal back into the wild or when you help animals already in the wild by educating the public. A key example of this is baby hares! Baby hares are naturally left alone by their mother, she does this to protect them from predators (I’ll do a post on this in the future), but so many people pick up baby hares and they think they are helping them when they are not. Unless the hare is injured or in immediate danger, you are doing the worst thing by picking up the hare. For each animal admitted to the centre, we helped dozens more by simply educating the public. 

Have any questions about a career in wildlife rehabilitation? Ask away!

Photo: Peter Best.