Reunite Wildlife!

Photo courtesy emilie inc photography

Young wild animals stand the greatest chance of living normal lives and surviving as adults if they are raised by wild parents. From wild parents they learn what to eat and where to forage, they learn what to fear and where to hide, and they learn valuable social skills - things that even the most skilled wildlife rehabilitator cannot provide.

To offer displaced young the best chance for long-term survival they must be reunited with their family or wild-fostered into a surrogate family whenever possible. 

Unfortunately, while most rehabilitators agree it is in the best interest of the animals, relatively few treat reuniting as a standard of practice - many see it more as an option, than an obligation. 

A small group of individuals aims to turn this around.

To encourage the practice of reuniting and wild-fostering, a group of experts from across the country have joined forces under the leadership of Anne Miller - an expert on reuniting raptors.

The group met last week to present to fellow rehabilitators at a national conference in Louisiana, and to hold their second face-to-face meeting.

To date, members include Jay Holcomb, from International Bird Rescue, John Griffin and Laura Simon, from HSUS, Diane Nickerson, of Mercer County Wildlife, and WildRescue's Rebecca Dmytryk.

Each spring and summer, WildRescue helps numerous babies get back home!!! If you'd like to be part of our Reuniting Team (phone and field positions) email rebecca@wildlifeservices.org.