A Look at the Rehabilation Process

by WW Staff

Lets take a peek into our Baby Animal Trailer (B.A.T.). You’ll see 200 - 300 baby mammals and birds being expertly cared for by our professional, full-time B.A.T. rehabbers, along with many long-term dedicated volunteers. We also have an influx of enthusiastic new volunteers, eager to experience all aspects of wildlife rehabilitation.

So many people are involved in the rehabilitation process; the first, being our office receptionists who field questions regarding a particular animal’s needs. When an animal is brought to the Waystation, we fill out intake papers on them, then select an appropriate place of residence. If an animal’s health is in a compromised state, they go directly to our Veterinary Clinic where Doctors Becky Yates and Silvio Santinelli administer specialized professional care. When an animal is ready to leave the clinic, a decision is made whether to rehab it back to the wild, allow it to recuperate at the Ranch, or to find it permanent placement.

All Needs Are Met

All infant animals, or young animals in need of hand - raising, go to the B.A.T. (Baby Animal Trailer) where we prepare and administer the appropriate formula or diet. Natural and native plants and foods are provided in their cages whenever possible. To assist with their rehabilitation, we also give the babies the emotional support they need as infants. Depending on the species, a time will come in animal’s development, when it is time to move it from the B.A.T. to another area of the ranch away from as much human interaction as possible. (For rehabilitation to be successful, the animal must be imprinted on its own kind and under no circumstances, on its human caregivers.)

Rehabilitation isn’t just feeding an animal, raising it and releasing it. Certain animals have to be taught to hunt or forage for food. For example, raptors must learn to hunt, nightjars need to catch insects on the fly, and raccoons must learn to fish. We do everything we can to provide these opportunities so they will be successful when they are on their own.

Suitable Rehab Area Scouted

Depending on each animal’s specific needs, a time will come for its release in the wild. I usually like to begin a rehab day early, to give the animal as much daylight as possible to acclimate itself to its new environment. An area is then scouted out which is suitable to the animal’s need for food, shelter and water: A red tail hawk likes to soar above high canyons and open areas, whereas a morning dove could be released over meadows or in an urban area, squirrels need trees with acorns and pine cones, while a rabbit requires lots of wild grasses, clovers and dandelions.

Last year’s rehabs allowed me to explore several different regions for release sites: Los Padres Mountains, San Gabriel Mountains, Angeles National Forest, Lake Piru, Castaic Lake, Kern River, Soledad Canyon, Antelope Valley and even urban areas in various surrounding cities. All of these trips were made considerably more interesting by the many volunteers who came to lug heavy carriers, great distances, in the hot sun. Our trips included lots of backtracking and exploring of dirt roads to find the perfect release spots.

Instincts Kick In

Sometimes, events occur at the time of an animal’s release that are very rewarding, enlightening and humorous. This year, I decided to start a pictorial notebook to document our animal rehabs - like watching a red tail hawk take flight after release to soar masterfully above the canyons. Often, our animals provide entertaining moments: Raccoons are notorious clowns. Recently, we released a young raccoon who had never seen grass before. It reached out and gingerly touched the grass, then pronged straight up in the air like an antelope, quite curious and fearful at the same time. Most rewarding though is seeing how quickly the animals adapt. Within minutes of its release, a baby opossum located his next meal by digging up grubs underneath a root system. It’s nice to see their instincts kick in when they are left on their own.

Under ideal rehabilitation protocol, all animals that come in for rehabilitation must be returned to the areas where they were found. I hope that in the near future, we will be able to begin post-release studies of our rehabs to better understand how well they have adjusted to the wild, their impact on the environment, and how to better channel our rehab talents to benefit the animals’ chances for survival.