The Care of Wildlife

Caring for wild animals is different than caring for domesticated animals and companion animals (pets) and requires specialized training and experience. From a veterinary medical perspective, it is a challenge to diagnose and treat patients that not only cannot express themselves verbally, but which don’t want to be approached or handled. Wild animals that are sick or injured also tend to hide their symptoms as not to be recognized as easy prey by a predator. Wild animals are most relaxed when they are, well, in the wild, so their natural behavior is often not observed very closely. Additionally, their temperament can make treating them more difficult as compared to domesticated animals.

Wildlife Care: Background

Unlike domesticated animals, pets and even acclimatized species in zoos, wild animals must be able to fend for themselves once they are released from veterinary care. Any disability that makes it difficult for a wild animal to find and catch food or avoid predators compromises their ability to survive in the wild.

Occasionally, certain wildlife species that have suffered injuries are first brought to veterinary hospitals. While it is common for a veterinarian to take in wildlife and provide emergency care, in the U.S., it’s illegal for veterinary practices to perform long-term care of wild animals unless they have obtained a state wildlife rehabilitator’s permit.1 There are many listed resources available that focus on educating the public and for veterinarians to consult if they come across injured or distressed wildlife.

Modern Capture of Wild Animals

The practice of capturing wild animals is as old as human existence. In today’s modern world however, the reasons for capturing wild species are more diverse than those of obtaining food and clothing. Millions of wild animals are captured each year as part of damage and disease control programs, population regulation activities, wildlife management efforts, and research studies.2 Many aspects of animal capture (especially those associated with protected wildlife species) are regulated by governmental agencies around the world, and animal welfare concerns are important regardless of the reason for capture.

Today, successful capture programs for wild animals are the result of the efforts of experienced veterinarians, wildlife biologists and wildlife managers who have planned, studied, and tested methods over many decades. There are many methods that are used for the capture of wild animals, including traps, snares, nets and the like. For many species however, chemical immobilization is often the method of choice, as it provides a safer, lower-stress experience for the animal. In cases where an animal is injured or otherwise requires medical intervention, this method has proven to be a far superior capture technique to physical immobilization.

There are many colleges, universities and zoological societies that offer safe capture courses and workshops for veterinarians and other personnel involved in the capture of wildlife. These typically cover such topics as species-specific capture scenarios, drug combinations and formulations, proper injection sites for chemical immobilization, capture strategies to minimize capture stress on animals, commercially-available darting systems, drug dosage calculations and medical emergencies associated with capture and handling, to name just a few.

Interested in learning more about safe capture? The San Diego Zoo now offers courses in safe capture techniques and best practices. Learn reliable, safe, and effective techniques for the species you work with and the scenarios you encounter!