My Job as a Wildlife Rescue Intern and Why It's Great
61 replies, posted
[IMG]http://www.wildlife-rescue.org/templates/wrr_altmenu/images/wrr_logo.png[/IMG]
[URL]http://www.wildlife-rescue.org/[/URL]
A few days ago, I started my new internship at the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center here in Texas. I've only been working there for a little while, but it's amazing at how much I've learned in my time there. My internship is from this month to about January, so that's about 5 months or so of rehabilitating and working with the animals there at WRR. I decided to make this thread as a little bit of a look into my new job and to provide some information on the animals that I work with every week.
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So for starters, we work with a LOT of squirrels. We classify their age by letters since it's hard to tell exactly how old they are. They range from A being the little hairless blobs with bulged, closed eyes to F which is just about fully grown and when we release them.
The main squirrel we have there is the Fox Squirrel.
[IMG]http://stepinplease.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/fox-squirrel-baby.jpg[/IMG]
Every day, each batch of squirrels needs to be fed about 5 times a day. Especially if they rely mainly on formula and not as much on solids. We start feeding them solids when they get to the B stage, but they heavily rely on formula until they're C's.
[IMG]http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx146/Pascalll/DSC_0447.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx146/Pascalll/DSC_0449.jpg[/IMG]
This is a B squirrel. They love to latch onto my hands. They're marked by a little tiny dab of colored nail polish on their ears. The one on the left is either Green or No Mark and the one on the right is Light Pink.
We feed them with 3cc syringes, feeding them about 5% of their body weight. When they get older, their diet is mainly 40% pecans, 40% rodent chow, and 20% crunchy veegetables.
We feed them about every 3 hours, which takes up a good portion of the day, ESPECIALLY when the squirrels are fussy and get easily distracted. We have to feed them at a good rate and be sure not to over feed them as they can aspirate easily, which can cause pneumonia and death.
The squirrels are probably my favorite in the entire facility. While they get a little insane sometimes, they're easy to feed once you get them started. They're easy to handle and as long as you don't mind a good amount of scratches on your hands and arms, they're pretty entertaining when they run up and down your arm.
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Then there's the song birds.
[IMG]http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx146/Pascalll/DSC_0450.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx146/Pascalll/DSC_0451.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Left:[/B] Baby Grackle [B]Right: [/B]​Baby Sparrow
[IMG]http://www.sneednatureart.com/merch/posters/images/Texas-Hill-Country.jpg[/IMG]
We have an assortment of birds including Nighthawks, Chimney Swifts, Blue Jays, Sparrows, and Finches. Those are the few I've seen so far, but I'm sure there's been tons of other kinds of birds that are native to this area.
We feed the song birds with either a mixture of nutrients which we call FONS or a mixture of their natural diet which is generally mealworms, seed, and fruits, as well as moist cat food which contains a lot of the nutrients that they need. Most baby birds will gape readily, but some are relatively stubborn such as Nighthawks who have a natural chattering action that they do when they're alert or stressed. Their beaks move extremely quickly, making it exceedingly difficult to get food in their mouths. For issues like these, we use the FONS in a syringe and we have to pry open their beaks to get the food down their throats.
While feeding them isn't too big of an issue (albeit, really disgusting sometimes because moist cat food smells terrible) we really have to watch out for avian diseases such as Avian Pox which is very easily transmitted to other birds.
[IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Avian_pox_albatross.JPG[/IMG]
Avian pox is curable but often times deadly when it goes untreated. We have to use COMPLETELY different feeding implements and gloves when working with birds who may have been exposed to Pox. Luckily, it's not transferable to any other animal.
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The other main animal we have at our facility.
[IMG]http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/photo_htm/Images/h3190pi.jpg[/IMG]
Doves!
We have a good assortment of doves, such as the White-Winged dove pictured above. These as well as Inca doves and Pigeons are provided and cared for at our facility.
Different from the song birds, the doves require a tube to be inserted down the throat and into the "crop".
[IMG]http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx146/Pascalll/dovecrop.png[/IMG]
These birds don't swallow their food as it's just pushed down into their bodies. The tube is a little difficult to get the hang of, and it takes a very steady hand to make sure that the tube and the food doesn't go down into the trachea which will suffocate and pretty much drown the bird. Other than that, the doves are relatively easy to handle, although prying open their beaks is a little aggravating when they're being particularly fidgety. Like with the song birds, we have to be sure that we keep the Pox-exposed doves away from the others.
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Besides those three main residents, we have a relatively sizeable Cattery which has a lot of cats up for adoption. We have one Pitbull resident by the name of Lola who is absolutely sweet. We have two domestic rabbits who are eager to be adopted, but have to go together. We also feed feral cats who happen to roll around the neighborhood and we will take in pretty much any wild animal in need. We transfer a lot of animals up to our main facility in Kendalia, TX, but we do what we can with our small facility in San Antonio.
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[B]The Good?
[/B]I get to work with amazing animals and learn a lot of new things about how they behave and act every shift. I get to make sure that the animals are fed and will someday be relocated back to the wild. I also get to meet a lot of good Samaritans who bring in animals in need, wanting to help which is great. There's a whole lot of things which are really beneficial to both myself and the animals and it's worth the 7 hour long shifts.
[B]The Bad?[/B]
The death. There are a lot of animals who are brought in who are just past the point of no return. I saw a sickly White-Winged Dove brought in who we all thought was going to make it, but after checking up on him later, we found him dead before we could even finish his admissions paperwork. Then there was a batch of Chimney Swifts who were brought in over night. I picked up one that was really lethargic and sitting at the bottom of the net cage. I fed it some fluids, hoping it would perk up, and I checked up on it every five minutes, eager to see it back up on its feet. But towards the end of my shift, I found it lying at the bottom, upside down, in the net cage. The worst part was, it didn't affect me a whole lot. I wanted to see it get better, yes, but I felt like the death was pretty inevitable in the back of my mind, just seeing how sad and sick it looked. Death is just a part of the job in this line of work, and you have to be relatively tough to handle it.
[B]The Ugly?[/B]
The MESS. I've pretty much been a poop and vomit magnet for 7 hours at a time. Babies poop and vomit. A lot. Baby ANIMALS poop and vomit even MORE. And it's something that you'd probably have to have a pretty big resistance to. Don't worry though, sanitizer is pretty readily available so I have a habit of cleaning up after incidents happen. But still, that's probably the worst part of the job is just dealing with the constant mess that results from caring for baby animals.
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And that's about it. If you guys have questions about what I do or the animals I care for, feel free to ask. All in all, I absolutely love this job. So much so that I'm willing to work an unpaid internship to be able to do it. (Of course, an internship could turn into a paid apprenticeship, which will be sweet, but that remains to be seen).
Thanks for reading, if you managed to get through the entire thing. And if you live in the San Antonio area, the facility is still actively looking for people to help, whether it's through volunteering or an internship like mine.
On a final note, if you guys love animals and care about the welfare of them, I HIGHLY suggest you look into shelters and similar places in your area to see if you can help. It's always worth it to see a healthy animal enjoying its life and knowing that you contributed to that animal's good health. Whether it was feeding it, walking it, exercising it, or simply being there to make sure that it's developing properly. So go out and search for ways you can help. I guarantee you that the result will be worth the effort.
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I have a Question. What are the procedures for when an animal is brought in and it at first didn't appear to be infected with anything but during its stay the disease or whatever develops and it's contagious. What do you guys do? Isolation and then testing of any other animals it was near or came into contact with? Basically how is any kind of emergency management handled there.
I don't think I could handle the death you encounter with that job.
Still, good to you.
[QUOTE=Makol;31776452]I have a Question. What are the procedures for when an animal is brought in and it at first didn't appear to be infected with anything but during its stay the disease or whatever develops and it's contagious. What do you guys do? Isolation and then testing of any other animals it was near or came into contact with? Basically how is any kind of emergency management handled there.[/QUOTE]
Well hopefully an animal wouldn't get a contagious disease after it's settled at our facility. But if such a case happened, we would check both that animal and every other animal in the enclosure/cage. If only one animal is infected, we isolate it. If they're all infected, we keep them together and away from other animals and avidly keep a vet watch on them.
It really depends on the animal and what the illness is. But that's the general procedure.
[QUOTE=Darkebrz;31776455]I don't think I could handle the death you encounter with that job.
Still, good to you.[/QUOTE]
It's definitely not easy, especially if you really love animals. But it's something that goes hand in hand with sick animals. It's worth having to go through that much death if we see other animals up and about and living healthy lives.
[QUOTE=Darkebrz;31776455]I don't think I could handle the death you encounter with that job.
Still, good to you.[/QUOTE]
Imagine any job that involves any kind of death. I interned at different ERs across Southern California and was around it every day. It's not something I want to be around anymore, but you do or usually become use to it over time and don't think much of it. You basically become desensitized to the whole death thing.
Cute
[QUOTE=Pascall;31776503]Well hopefully an animal wouldn't get a contagious disease after it's settled at our facility. But if such a case happened, we would check both that animal and every other animal in the enclosure/cage. If only one animal is infected, we isolate it. If they're all infected, we keep them together and away from other animals and avidly keep a vet watch on them.
It really depends on the animal and what the illness is. But that's the general procedure. [/QUOTE]
Makes sense, seems pretty basic. But would you send out such animals to facilities that can handle them better or keep them there isolated and have the vets/specialist watch over them?
[QUOTE=Makol;31776527]Makes sense, seems pretty basic. But would you send out such animals to facilities that can handle them better or keep them there isolated and have the vets/specialist watch over them?[/QUOTE]
If we saw that our main facility would be better suited for handling the animal, yeah we'd transfer them. We don't have an ICU or anything at ours. We're basically just the "first stop" on the road to recovery for animals.
Oh my god that baby squirrel. [img]http://i.somethingawful.com/forumsystem/emoticons/emot-3.gif[/img]
That is awesome stuff. Also Fox Squirrels are cool looking, neat that you guys have them. I rarely get to see them around.
Yeah Fox squirrels are the main ones that roam around these parts.
We also have Rock Squirrels:
[img]http://imagess3.enature.com/mammals/mammals_m/ma0197_1m.jpg[/img]
But I haven't seen anyone bring any to our facility. Probably because they're pretty rare.
The baby fox squirrels are adorable.
Squirrels are cool. One of them chased a group of three ravens out of my yard today.
Little badass
Here's another pic:
[IMG]http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx146/Pascalll/DSC_0448.jpg[/IMG]
This is usually my hand after I'm done feeding each squirrel. The scratches don't look like much, but they sting like a bitch whenever I sanitize.
[IMG]http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx146/Pascalll/DSC_0444.jpg[/IMG]
A job like this would keep me happy.
Dawww look at the birds
They're really fragile. Sometimes I'M afraid to touch them because I'm afraid I'm going to pop them or something.
Dawwww!!
Avian Pox? So like a bird's oral herpes?
How Much do you get an Hour for it?
[QUOTE=Pascall;31777067]Here's another pic:
[IMG]http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx146/Pascalll/DSC_0448.jpg[/IMG]
This is usually my hand after I'm done feeding each squirrel. The scratches don't look like much, but they sting like a bitch whenever I sanitize.
[IMG]http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx146/Pascalll/DSC_0444.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
OH GOSH I HAVE WOMAN HANDS.
[QUOTE=BlackCrow;31778304]Avian Pox? So like a bird's oral herpes?[/QUOTE] In a way. Only it's not just oral. It can occur anywhere where there isn't feathers, so their beaks, eyes and feet are all at risk.
[editline]17th August 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=The Aussie;31778367]How Much do you get an Hour for it?[/QUOTE]
It's an unpaid internship.
How much do you enjoy your work there and how many hours per day do you spend there?
I can understand that helping rehabilitate and care for animals is more than enjoyable, but the deaths and having to see all the injured, sickly or starving animals that are brought in is quite a counterbalance, I would imagine.
[QUOTE=Pascall;31778485]In a way. Only it's not just oral. It can occur anywhere where there isn't feathers, so their beaks, eyes and feet are all at risk.
[editline]17th August 2011[/editline]
It's an unpaid internship.[/QUOTE]
Aww.. poor herpe birds. :(
Also.. I thinks It's nice of you to be doing this for no pay. :smile:
more squirrel pics please
cute little rascals
[QUOTE=Pocket Medic;31778639]How much do you enjoy your work there and how many hours per day do you spend there?
I can understand that helping rehabilitate and care for animals is more than enjoyable, but the deaths and having to see all the injured, sickly or starving animals that are brought in is quite a counterbalance, I would imagine.[/QUOTE]
I absolutely love my job. Granted, it's hard work which I'm honestly not accustomed to, as I've only ever worked retail jobs all my life. My shifts are about 7 hours from noon to 7pm; but they can go longer if I have to finish feeding a round of animals.
While the bad things about the job is sometimes overwhelming, it's not something that you can really dwell on. One animal may have died, but there are tons of other still living animals that rely on you to survive. So you have to think, are you going to allow this one situation prevent you from making sure that the other animals get the care they need? Of course not. So you move on.
It's a hard way of thinking to adapt to, but if the animals are going to survive, its something you have to do.
A lot of responsibility here, no doubt. But its worth it for all the cute critters you take care of.
Those baby squirrels are so cute. Also congrats Pascall on your new job.
Outside of birds and squirrels, what else do you get in?
And what's your favourite, or rarest, thing you've met?
I've heard stories of deer being brought in, as well as big birds such as falcons and hawks. But I personally haven't seen anything too weird brought in. The animal that surprised me the most was probably the batch of Chimney Swifts. They're native, but I'd never seen or heard them before, so their loud chattering was murder on my ears. They were really fussy eaters too.
The two rabbits are definitely my two favorite residents. They're male and female and have the strongest bond I've ever seen. Apparently at their old residence, they dug holes in their enclosures just so they could be with each other. It's majorly cute.
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