Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation

Parrots are charismatic members of any ecosystem in which they are found. Con- sequently, psittacines are presented to wildlife rehabilitators due to anthropogenic impact, natural disaster, and trafficking confiscation. Here we compare mortality, morbidity, disposition, and life history from psittacines admitted to two facilities: Belize Bird Rescue, a “soft release” rehabilita-
tion facility returning native, captive and confiscated psittacines to the wild; and SoCal Parrot, a “hard release” facility lim- ited to naturalized psittacines of southern California, USA, where all patients are wild and have been for many generations. We hypothesized that the two populations would differ, with wild natives being more biodiverse, healthier, and suffering less anthropogenic impact than naturalized urban psittacines; and that the reasons for admission, disposition, and survival to release would be more favorable to the native populations. We found, however, that urban birds are more diverse, healthier, and suffer less from negative human–wildlife interac-tions. We also found that “soft release” and prolonged care before and after resulted in high survival rates and successful releases. The findings may serve to guide for early decision-making in rehabilitation of wild psittacines, depending on type of population and release methods. We also suggest implications of wildlife rehabilitation of psittacines toward conservation of threatened and endangered species.

ABSTRACT
Current research about wildlife has tended to emphasize the contributions of scientific perspectives. This thesis argues that the practice of wildlife rehabilitation (WR) also offers significant information to academic discourse. The goals of my study were to explore and describe the different perspectives and knowledges generated about wildlife through the practice of wildlife
rehabilitation and the rehabilitators' relationships with their wild animal patients, through the use of qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews and autoethnography. I interviewed seven WR professionals about their nonhuman animal patients, education animals, and human staff and volunteers. The autoethnographic information used in this study was gathered from my own experience as a wildlife rehabilitator.
Five key themes emerged from my research. 1) The altruistic roles taken on by wildlife rehabilitators (both caregiving and training roles) improve communication with other animal individuals. 2) The subjective experience plays critical roles, both positive and negative, in the practice of wildlife rehabilitation
and the ability to understand wildlife. 3) The sense of obligation and responsibility to address anthropogenic injuries to other animals leads humans to become wildlife rehabilitators. 4) Wildlife experience with, and education about, other animal species are important factors in forming an appreciation for wildlife. 5) The practice of wildlife rehabilitation generates significant information about wildlife and medicine that is useful to discourse about wildlife.
This study will be relevant to professionals from other fields that work with wildlife and nonhuman animals: conservation, wildlife management, animal communication, and to the new field of trans-species psychology, among others. Captive environments and enrichment for education animals at WR centers could
be used as models for captive animals in other industries: entertainment (zoos and circuses), as well as laboratory and research institutions. Finally, this theoretical analysis of WR, placed in the context of power relations, offers a significant contribution to human-centered studies such as those of human ethics
(biomedical, especially, and around human test subjects), medicine and public health, and studies of social justice.

What is it like to rehabilitate sun bears in the rainforests of Malaysia? Why were sloth bears trained to dance? What does Chinese medicine have to do with black bears in North America?

Skilled grassroots activists, dedicated sanctuary attendants, determined scholars--those working to protect the world's eight bear species from Viet Nam to Vermont--come together in Bear Necessities to explore pressures that threaten the world's remaining bears, and to offer a tapestry of possibilities for protecting and preserving these endangered yet much-loved beings. This diverse collection of approachable, engaging essays is an important new addition to literature for those interested in learning more wilderness and wildlife around the world, especially bears.

Psittacines are the most com-mon birds reported in legal and illegal wild-life trade.Wildlife rehabilitators are called upon to assist in the care and appropriate release of diverse parrot species in diverse habitats. The problems and issues related to wild psittacine rehabilitation reflect universal issues in wildlife rehabilitation; however, parrots require specific training and represent a high-visibility, highly emo-tive and charismatic group of birds prone to significant wildlife trafficking. The online platform Survey Monkey was used to reach wildlife rehabilitators around the globe and included responses from the Neo-tropics, African nations, Australasia, India, North America and Europe. The survey was intended to explore the extent of wildlife rehabilitators’ role in wild parrot rescue, rehabilitation, and release, and ultimately to be used to prepare options, guidelines, and plans for psittacine rehabilitation and release to the wild. Out of 237 rehabilita-tion centers contacted, 34 responded. Based on survey results, human impact is the primary cause for presentation of psit-tacines to a rehabilitation facility. Reports of non-traumatic, non-anthropogenic illnesses varied between regions.

There is a current global biodiversity loss at a rate 100 to 1000 times greater than the rate of natural extinction. Human activity, specifically human population growth and the necessary actions to sustain them, has led to habitat destruction , the rise of invasive species, climate change, and over exploitation of natural resources. In South Africa, an increasing number of nonhuman primates have entered into rehabilitation centers due to animal-human conflicts. The high accumulation of these primates has led to an increase in the need for group formation and releases at rehabilitation centers. Although the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has published generic guidelines for the release of nonhuman primates, it recommends species-specific guidelines be published for optimal release success. Additionally, they emphasize the importance of following best practice management approaches to maximize conservation efforts and individual welfare of displaced species, while also aiming to provide guidance on the best practice approaches. To date, there are only a few published species-specific rehabilitation and release protocols for primates. We, therefore, created species-specific guidelines for the rehabilitation of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) for reinforcement. The proposed guidelines are based on psychological well-being, social and individual behaviors, and the ecology of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) for rehabilitation, release, and post-release assessments. Our guidelines include seven distinct steps: arrival, conspecific resocialization, housing, training , and preparation, pre-release assessment, release-site selection, release, and post-release assessment. We provide detailed information and examples of each step based on the protocols from the Riverside Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (Riverside), a rehabilitation center in the Limpopo province of South Africa that has had successful rehabilitation and release projects for chacma baboons, among other primates. Since rehabilitation centers are limited by factors such as location and resources, this is meant to be a "best practice" model for this specific baboon species. The goal of these guidelines is to help assist future rehabilitation and releases, as well as provide a foundation to those who wish to modify the guidelines to create other species-specific rehabilitation steps.

Resumen El tráfico ilegal de fauna silvestre es considerado como una de las principales causas de la disminución de las poblaciones naturales a nivel regional. En El Salvador, se conoce la ocurrencia de siete especies de psitácidos de los cuales seis de ellos se encuentran amenazados y en peligro de extinción a nivel nacional, seis en el Apéndice II y uno en el Apéndice I de CITES y uno se encuentra amenazado según la Lista Roja de la UICN. Éste estudio retrospectivo se centra en las principales causas de ingreso y procedencias de especímenes de la familia Psittacidae que ingresaron al Centro de Rescate de Fauna Silvestre El Tronador de enero a diciembre durante los años 2011 al 2016. Un total de 334 individuos pertenecientes a 10 especies identificadas fueron recibidos, de los cuales Brotogeris jugularis (48.2%) y Eupsittula canicularis (29.9%) obtuvieron la mayor frecuencia de ingreso. El 77.2% de las causas de ingreso fue por decomisos. La mayor proporción de individuos provinieron de la zona central (33.5%) y oriental (32.3%) y el resto de la zona occidental y paracentral del país. Se observó un marcado aumento de ingreso de individuos anualmente en los meses de febrero y marzo debido a que la mayoría de psitácidos ingresaron en edad de polluelo e inmaduro (56.5%), siendo B. jugularis y E. canicularis las especies primarias. La constante extracción de psitácidos pequeños del medio natural para el comercio ilegal de mascotas continúa siendo una amenaza creciente para estas especies.

Avian fracture surgery is quite distinct from mammalian fracture surgery. Avian bones are brittle and prone to fragmentation or shattering upon impact, and long bones lack sufficient soft tissue and muscle support. We present a successful case of an open reduction and internal fixation of a humerus fracture in a house sparrow using intramedullary pinning. The male house sparrow was found with a drooping wing, bleeding from a wound on the medial aspect of his right arm, and a complete compound fracture of his right humerus. It was decided to correct the fracture surgically via open reduction and internal fixation. Postoperative physiotherapy included PROM (passive range of motion) exercises with wing flexion and extension. Intramedullary pinning using a hypodermic needle resulted in excellent fracture immobilisation. The bird recovered completely and regained its normal flight ability.

Can wildlife release be adapted not only to save lives but to also save ecosystems? For four years we modified the release of rehabilitated Bare-nosed Wombats in a project to rewild 350 hectares of Cumberland Plain Woodland in Western Sydney. We successfully re-established the breeding population and generated an 80% increase in the activity of other wildlife species through associated ecosystem services. We report significant opportunities to adapt wildlife rehabilitation to restore wild ecosystems