REHABILITATION COUNCIL Volume 35, Number 2, 2015 REHABILITATION
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JOURNA L OF ILDLIFE INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE W REHABILITATION COUNCIL Volume 35, Number 2, 2015 REHABILITATION IN THIS ISSUE: The relationship between rehab practices and post-release findings for rehabilitated fawns In the rehabilitation of a wild animal, is it really possible to “do no harm”? New means of exploring food choices of rehabilitating red-shouldered hawks ABOUT THE JOURNAL THE Journal of Wildlife Rehabilitation is designed to provide useful information to wildlife rehabilitators and others involved in the care and treatment of native wild species with the ultimate purpose of returning them to the wild. The journal is published by the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC), which invites your comments on this issue. Through this publication, rehabilitation courses offered online and on-site in numerous locations, and an annual sympo- sium, IWRC works to disseminate information and improve the quality of the care provided to wildlife. On the cover: Black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus). PHOTO © SKOTT READER, FLICKR.COM. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. Left: A bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). PHOTO © SAFFRON BLAZE. CC BY-SA 3.0 LICENSE. International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council PO Box 3197 Eugene, OR 97403 USA Phone: 866.871.1869 Fax: 408.876.6153 Toll free: 866. 871.1869 Email: [email protected] [email protected] www.theiwrc.org JOURNA L OF WILDLIFE REHABILITATION Editor Volume 35(2) Kieran J. Lindsey, PhD Center for Leadership in CONTENTS Global Sustainability Virginia Tech University JWR Editorial office: St. Louis, Missouri, USA Art Director Nancy Hawekotte Cumulus Creative Omaha, Nebraska, USA PEER-REVIEWED PAPERS Copy Editor Heila Hubbard Finaleyes, Ink 7 Rescue, California, USA Rehabilitation practices and post–release findings on hand–reared fawns Peggy Cheatham and Marnie Allbritten 15 Food choice of red-shouldered hawks (Buteo lineatus) in a rehabilitation setting: behavioral insights from novel methods Jaime Coon, Monica Atkin, Lindsay Gabriel, and Wiline M. Pangle DEPARTMENTS Editorial 4 In the News 5 Wild Rights 23 Selected Abstracts 25 Tail Ends 34 Submission Guidelines 35 The Journal of Wildlife Rehabilitation is published by the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC), PO Box 3197, Eugene, OR 97403 USA. ©2015 (ISSN: 2166-9198). All rights reserved. 275 wpcol IWRC EDITORIAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS Can Wildlife Rehabilitators Really President “Do No Harm”? Susan Wylie Guest editorial by Renée Schott, DVM, CWR Le Nichoir Wild Bird Rehabilitation Centre Hudson, Quebec, Canada Vice President s wildlife rehabilitators, we often PHOTO Adam Grogan aspire to the adage, “Above all, do © RSPCA 2.0 LICENSE. MICHAEL BARKER STUDIO. CC BY-NC-ND Horsham, West Sussex, UK no harm.” This phrase, although Aof unknown origins and often misidenti- Secretary 1 Brenda Harms fied as part of the Hippocratic Oath, has t Pelham, New York, USA been central to the education of human Treasurer and veterinary medical students. With the Mike Davidson ultimate goal of releasing animals back to Isler CPA the wild, wildlife rehabilitators know that Eugene, Oregon, USA ‘‘doing no harm’” is the fastest way to reach Francisca Astorga, MV this goal and is morally just. But is this a Cascada de las Animas Wild Animal Refuge Santiago, RM, Chile realistic goal? All wildlife patients are stressed every Christopher Boykin Pelican Harbor Seabird Station minute they are in the care of the reha- Miami, Florida, USA bilitator. Lloyd Brown They are in an unfamiliar, enclosed, Wildlife Rescue of Dade County unnatural environment, hearing unnatural Miami, Florida, USA sounds (including our voices), smelling Amanda Cyr unnatural odors, and constantly seeing and Western screech owl (Megascops kennicottii). Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources being restrained by predators (the rehabili- Wausau, Wisconsin, USA tators). These experiences evoke a parasym- Decrease stressors at all stages of Kelly Donithan pathetic, or “fight-or-flight,” response in rehabilitation. Animals Asia our patients. Parasympathetic stimulation Hanoi, Veitnam Sight: Seeing predators (including us) is causes a cascade of physiological processes extremely stressful. Create visual barriers Kristen Heitman, CWR that are intended to aid the patient in fight Providence Wildlife Rehabilitation in cages and approach prey animals in a Westfield, Indiana, USA or flight, such as elimination of cloacal/ nonthreatening posture (eyes diverted, rectal contents, sending blood away from Laurin Huse walking sideways). When faced with a Cascades Raptor Center the gut/kidneys/other organs and sending panicking animal in an enclosed room, Eugene, Oregon, USA blood toward the heart and muscles, release simply shut the lights off for 5-10 minutes Kim Poisson of stress hormones such as cortisol and to calm its fight-or-flight response. A2 Raptor Rescue adrenaline, and the stopping of digestive Visual enrichment: Our patients are used Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA processes.2 Stress can kill but, if it doesn’t, to spending 24/7 surrounded by natural many other physiological effects are det- objects and landscape. Enrich an animal’s rimental to the animal, such as impaired cage with natural items (branches, logs, Kai Williams growth in young,3 impaired metabolism,4 leaves, dirt, etc.) to give it something pro- Executive Director impaired immune system,5 and slowed ductive to do and divert its attention away Julissa Favela wound healing.6 Stress has dangerous Programs and Membership Manager from stress triggers. consequences, but we can decrease stress Laura Ratti for our patients and minimize the chance Hearing: Typical noises in a wildlife Office Administrator of negative outcomes. rehabilitation center (voices, objects clank- ing, doors slamming, etc.) are extremely unnatural and stressful for our patients. We can prevent our patients from being CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 4 Journal of Wildlife Rehabilitation 275 wpcol IN THE NEWS Refugio Oil Spill timely. While it shows a mixed picture at possible reasons for the historically SANTA BARBARA, California, USA (May overall, it clearly demonstrates that efforts high number of dolphin deaths that have 26, 2015)— On May 19th, an oil spill to improve vulnerable ecosystems can be occurred within the footprint of the Deep- occurred near Refugio State Beach, highly effective. It also underlines the scale water Horizon spill,” said Dr. Teri Rowles, California. A unified command has of the challenges that remain. We have to veterinarian and one of 22 contributing been established for the response effort. rise to those challenges, as the health of our authors on the paper, and head of NOAA’s It includes Plains All American Pipeline nature is linked to the health of Europe’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding (the responsible party) and local, state and people, and to our economy.” Response Program, which is charged federal agencies, including the US Coast Looking at birds, the report concludes with determining the causes of unusual Guard, the US Environmental Protec- that more than half of all wild bird spe- mortality events, also known as UMEs. tion Agency, the California Department cies assessed (52%) have a secure status. “These studies have increasingly pointed of Fish and Wildlife, the Office of Spill However, around 17% of the species are to the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons Prevention, and the Santa Barbara Office still threatened and another 15% are near as being the most significant cause of the of Emergency Management. threatened, declining, or depleted. This illnesses and deaths plaguing the Gulf’s The unified command includes 956 includes once common farmland species dolphin population. This study carries people working together in support of such as the skylark (Alauda arvensis) and those findings significantly forward.” the response, with 16 boats working on the black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa). Animals with untreated adrenal cleanup operations. Cleanup crews have The report also presents success stories insufficiency are at risk of life-threatening removed over 10,000 gallons of oily water of targeted conservation action led by the adrenal crises. The adrenal gland produces mixture, and our SCAT teams continue to EU. The bearded vulture Gypaetus( barba- hormones—such as cortisol and aldoste- comb the 7.8 miles of affected shoreline. As tus) and the white-headed duck (Oxyura rone—that regulate metabolism, blood of May 26th, cleanup crews removed 310 leucocephala) both have EU Species Action pressure, and other bodily functions. cubic yards of oiled vegetation, 760 cubic Plans, and benefitted from the EU LIFE “Animals with adrenal insufficiency yards of oiled sand, and 2,610 cubic yards Fund, and their numbers have seen sub- are less able to cope with additional of oiled soil. stantial improvements. The EU Natura stressors in their everyday lives,” said Dr. As of May 25th, a total of 38 birds 2000 network of protected areas, which Stephanie Venn-Watson, the study’s lead have been found affected by oil, and 13 is 18% of the EU’s land area and is the author and veterinary epidemiologist at the birds have died since the response began. largest network of protected areas in the National Marine Mammal Foundation, Twenty-six mammals have been found world, has also had an important positive “and when those stressors occur, they are affected by oil, eight of which were dead. influence on the conservation status of more likely to die.” The worst case scenario assumes that species and habitat types. Barataria Bay, Louisiana, was one of 105,000 gallons of crude oil were released Source: http://www.eea.europa.eu/pub- the most heavily oiled coastal areas from into the environment. lications/state-of-nature-in-the-eu the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the new study shows that half of the dead Status on Bird Conservation in Study Finds Dolphin Adrenal and dolphins examined from Barataria Bay the EU Lung Lesions Suggest Link to that stranded between June 2010 and BRUSSELS, Belgium (May 20, 2015)—The Deepwater Horizon Spill November 2012 had a thin adrenal gland European Commission has adopted a new WASHINGTON, DC, USA (May 20, cortex, indicative of adrenal insufficiency.