that can be easily rehabilitated — such 

 as removing a plastic beer can ring 

 wrapped around its neck — we'll do. 

 But birds with broken wings are, more 

 cases than not, terminal, and a lot of 

 work has to be done." 



The best the aquarium can do with 

 a common species is refer the caller to a 

 local rehabilitator and hope for the best. 



"You're using all this time and 

 resources to extend the life of some of 

 these animals when all that money and 

 energy could be more focused and 

 directed toward a species of animal that 

 desperately needs help," he 

 says. "A possum is no more 

 important or less important 

 than a blue whale, but at least 

 numbers-wise, you've got to, 

 in my opinion, deal with the 

 animals whose numbers are 

 really down. I try to treat 

 every animal as a living entity. 

 But there are hard decisions 

 that have to be made." 



The task of rehabilitation 

 often seems a sympathetic 

 response performed in a 

 vacuum. 



"One of the important 

 things that all wildlife 

 rehabilitators have to be 

 concerned about is the impact 

 that their efforts will have on 

 the free-living wild popula- 

 tions as well as the individual 

 animals," says Michael 

 Stoskopf, professor of wildlife 

 and aquatic medicine at N.C. 

 State University College of Veterinary 

 Medicine. "Overall, I'm very supportive 

 of (rehabilitation) in that I believe it 

 gives people an opportunity to learn 

 about wildlife." 



But he stresses that rehabilitators 

 need to be wary of the risks of reintro- 

 ducing diseases into wild populations, 

 including ones contracted when wildlife 

 are exposed to domestic animals and 

 humans. They also need to know where 

 to release an animal to increase its 

 chances of survival but without creating 

 an imbalance in the predator-prey 

 dynamics. 



"We even have to be concerned 



about the impact that rehabilitation 

 efforts might have on the accuracy or 

 our scientific surveying efforts," says 

 Stoskopf. 



First and foremost, the rehabilitator 

 must honor the best interest of the 

 patient. 



"There is tremendous value in the 

 effort," he says. "The people that do this 

 get a great deal out of it, mostly person- 

 al satisfaction. What the animals get out 

 of it depends on the skills and abilities 

 of the individual rehabilitator." 



Serious rehabilitators, says 



A Kemp's ridley sea turtle gets a betadine sponge bath 

 at the N.C. Aquarium in Manteo. 



Stoskopf, will involve themselves with 

 mentor organizations such as the 

 National Wildlife Rehabilitation 

 Association or the International Wildlife 

 Rehabilitation Association. 



"There's room for many different 

 individuals in the area of wildlife 

 rehabilitation with different back- 

 grounds and different interests," he says. 

 "But it takes more than just desire." 



Some states require rehabilitators to 

 pass courses before they begin practice. 

 North Carolina is not one of them. 



"It's too easy in North Carolina to 

 get a permit to rehabilitate," Hucks says. 



"Nobody comes out and checks your 

 animals. I would like to see more people 

 checking facilities, making sure people's 

 permits are up to date, making sure that 

 the birds they saw last month are still 

 there, and if not, where are they." 



For now, the best way for 

 rehabilitators to stay on their toes is 

 through networking. Rehabilitators have 

 amassed a body of knowledge about diet, 

 rehydration, parasites and diseases. 



"If I come across something that I 

 don't understand, I read about it. And if 

 that doesn't fix the problem or it's beyond 

 the scope of my understanding, 

 then I'll call my vet or I'll call 

 Joan (her mentor)," says Hucks. 

 "You lose a lot of animals when 

 you start. I think new rehabbers 

 want to save everything. I've 

 gotten a lot better about putting 

 things down." 



Some rehabilitators 

 euthanize any animals that 

 can't be returned to the wild. 

 Others will give permanent 

 care to crippled creatures. 

 Hucks hopes one day to have 

 a bonded pair of unreleasable 

 raptors that can be foster 

 parents to orphaned birds. 



"I put a lot of stuff down, 

 a lot more than I keep," says 

 Hucks. "But once in a while 

 when you're working with 

 animals, just like with kids, you 

 find one that's your favorite 

 that you try to keep or place." 

 And once in a while 

 comes the thrill of watching a red-tailed 

 hawk — like one she raised from an 

 awkward nestling — soar. 



"He stayed around hunting," she 

 says. "I would see him get snakes and 

 rats, and eventually three more hawks 

 came through here on migration. They 

 were screaming and fighting behind the 

 house, and he exhibited normal hawk 

 behavior." 



She's unsure whether the bird 

 followed the others or embarked on a 

 solitary journey. But the next day, he 

 was gone. 



"I have no doubt that my hawk did 

 really well," she says. M 



20 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1994 



