Session Abstracts
Education Alternatives: What Can We Do?
Michaeleen Farrington
Schools and community groups are always interested in a good falcon or owls
program, but are those all we have to offer? What if you don't have education
animals? What if you have groups in your community who are interested in art
or history? What do you do with toddlers? Can you serve them equally well? The
answer is, "YES!" With a little creativity, you can find ways to market
education programs for art, history, math and science AND to any age group.
Whether you are a large shelter or an in-home rehabilitator, you can do this!
In this workshop, you will get a sampling of some programs outside the norm.
You are welcome to use these pre-designed programs at your facility. We will
also cover the North Carolina curriculum guides and how to use them to market
your programs. Discuss how to get your message out to the schools and community
groups in your area. Find out what resources are available to help develop your
education programs. Join us for this informative and fun workshop!
Feel free to bring your program ideas to share with the group.
Eastern Cottontail
Pat Isaacs
This session will cover the natural history, birth and young, captive care,
food/formula, housing, release and medical concerns of the eastern cottontail..
Wildlife Psychology
Sharon Kzinowek
Wildlife psychology can be applied in a practical manner to the way wildlife
rehabilitators do things. There is no challenge more exciting than trying to
understand the different species in the care of wildlife rehabilitators. Wildlife
species are not version of humans dressed in fur and feathers. Each species
has its own unique psychology. Wildlife rehabilitators need to attempt to see
the world and an animal’s current situation through the eyes of that animal
in order to release psychologically healthy animals.
Hummingbird Rehabilitation
Connie Sale
This class will cover the natural history of hummingbirds, including discussion
of their biology, physiology, and migration. Rehabilitation of orphaned, injured,
diseased, and distressed hummingbirds will be discussed. Nutrition, caging,
daily care, medications, and release criteria will also be detailed.
Waterfowl Rehabilitation Basics
Jennifer Gordon & Toni O'Neil
This presentation is geared for those who have not really attempted to rehabilitate
ducks and geese on a large scale/ regular basis, but are interested in learning
how to do it. This is also geared for those who want to begin their Waterfowl
training for a Federal License. The primary focus will be on caring for the
more common land species, and starting off with the domestics (for those who
do not have their federal license yet). Sea ducks will be left out as this is
a specialty area and will require specific training with experienced coastal
rehabbers. The class will go into the details such as: Natural History, Identification,
Anatomy, Behavior, Caging/Housing, Food/Nutrition, Common Injuries, Diseases
and common problems, etc..) The class will serve as a basic course for beginners,
but will also give enough details for intermediate rehabbers who may not have
attempted some of the wound care, or birds with problems/injuries before.
You Can't Read an X-Ray
Sally Davis
After a brief introduction on how x-rays are used to create radiographs,
basics on reading radiographs will follow. Then participants will review radiographs
together in an interactive forum. Images will be presented in a digital format
allowing larger group participation and participants will immediately get to
put to use their new knowledge looking at real cases.
Chronic Wasting Disease Surveillance in North Carolina
Daron Barnes, Permits and Planning Supervisor, NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Kelly Douglass, Captive Cervid Program Leader, NC Wildlife Resources Commission
This presentation will include chronic wasting disease etiology (species susceptible,
transmission, distribution, symptoms, history, etc.), why the disease is a problem,
types of surveillance being conducted in North Carolina for the disease, an
agency response if the disease is detected in the state, what wildlife rehabilitators
can do to prevent the disease, and what is the outlook for North Carolina.
Case Studies
Test your diagnostic skills against some of the common and some the
more difficult conditions that rehabilitators encounter.
Cage Building Demo
Bob Kiger
See how a mammal cage is built. Then build your own on site with Bob's guidance.
Imprinting
Jean Chamberlain
This presentation covers imprinting and its significance to wildlife rehabilitators.
It covers the traditional view of imprinting, the contribution of falconry to
our knowledge of imprinting and the use of imprinted birds as education birds.
The speaker will cover recent research on imprinting including research on how
birds learn their songs and the implications this has for rehabilitators.
Ethics in Wildlife Rehabilitation
Dr. Laurel Degernes
This title conjured up a number of different responses when I asked different
rehabilitators what ethics meant to them. For example, one immediate comment
related to the inappropriate treatment that some wildlife cases receive when
they are treated by veterinarians who have not been trained to treat wildlife
cases (i.e., fracture management principles that may work quite well for dog
or cat cases may not be suitable for wild birds). Others have suggested that
objective criteria should be established to determine when to euthanize animals
that have a poor prognosis for release to the wild - what decisions are made
during the initial assessment, and how do we maintain objectivity after weeks
or months of rehabilitation, only to realize that an animal is not releasable?
What's more important - quality or quantity of life, and who makes those decisions?
What criteria are used to determine which animals are appropriate and suitable
to maintain in captivity for education or display purposes? How do wildlife
rehabilitators maintain their sanity during particularly busy times and how
does one maintain a balance between work and personal life? The "art of
wildlife rehabilitation" involves a combination of personal experiences
and experiences from other people and centers. In this interactive presentation,
we will discuss these and other issues that fall under the umbrella of "ethics
of wildlife rehabilitation".
Basic Bird Care
Nimette Soli
This talk takes the rehabber through the initial call for assistance with
a bird through its release, taking the listener through the basics of housing
from neonate through fledglings to the flight cage. Nimette discusses how to
feed and what to feed. The importance of feeding frequency and hydration basics
are covered. The initial exam upon receipt of the bird is demonstrated. She
touches on triage and gavage, discusses heating methods and cleaning tools.
She ends the talk with release criterion, mentions good reference books throughout
and concludes with incidentals like bird songs for babies to hear and Federal
permit requirements.
The Professional Wildlife Rehabilitator
Treating the Human Animal
Linda Bergman
The “human animal” is the attentive individual (sometimes
with company in tow) and transporter of an injured, orphaned or diseased animal
who is deserving of respect and sensitivity. Your professionalism (or lack thereof)
will be silently assessed within minutes of initial contact with the human animal,
determining the direction of future human interactions with distressed wildlife
and framing how other wildlife rehabilitators will be perceived. A professional
wildlife rehabilitator has the opportunity and power to create positive experiences
in the community that can change lives. This interactive session will help you
polish your professionalism and answer the hard questions.
The Global Pandemic of Avian Influenza: Origins, spread and
what you should be doing
Bobby Schopler, DVM, PhD Peter Cowen_DVM, PhD
This session will examine how the current pandemic of Avian Influenza
began, what its dimensions has been in Asia and how it spread out of Asia. It
will include an examination of the epidemiology of influenza in wild birds and
an update on the current situation in Southeastern Europe and Western Asia.
The program will also include an overview of the clinical presentation of the
H5N1 Avian Influenza in wild birds. It will review potential surveillance and
monitoring strategies and obstacles; and provide advice concerning what actions
to take should you suspect Avian Influenza in wild birds.
Additional abstracts will be listed as they are submitted.