REHABILITATION AT AIWC
WILDLIFE REHABILITATION:
The Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation is a wildlife trauma center. We care for injured and orphaned wild animals native to Alberta or the Northwest Territories. Members of the public report wildlife in distress to us directly or through the police, SPCA, veterinarians or Alberta Fish and Wildlife.
We request people call us before handling wildlife to determine whether or not the animal is truly injured or orphaned. If it is in distress we will instruct you as to the safest way to proceed for both you and the animal.
True orphans are young animals whose mother has been killed;
therefore, they need someone to take care of them. We discourage
the public from bringing us babies unless the babies are injured or
sick, or the mother has been killed.
Please see our 'ORPHANS' page for more detailed information.
Once patients arrive at AIWC they are examined from head to
toe to determine the extent of their injuries. Further testing may
be required, such as blood, fecal, and radiograph diagnostics.
With the completion of our new surgical suite in 2009, patients
are no longer transported to an off-site clinic for any procedures.
At the wildlife center, our staff and volunteers provide treatment and supportive care. This may include feeding through a tube or providing extra fluids for animals that are dehydrated or too weak to eat on their own. Each patient's diet will vary depending on the seriousness of their injury but will be as close to its natural diet as possible. In the case of orphaned animals, they must be taught to forage or hunt for their own food. Most patients will begin their stay in the clinic where their progress can be closely monitored. As an animal gains strength or its injury heals, it will be moved to a larger enclosure (such as the pool room, indoor aviary, outdoor flight pen, the waterfowl pen, the fawn corral or our new mammal enclosure) for more exercise to prepare it for release back into the wild.
Once an animal is strong enough, a volunteer gets to do the best part of the job: releasing the animal to continue its life in the wild. When possible and where safe to do so, we release the animal back to the area it came from, especially if there is a mate, parent, or offspring awaiting its return. If not, appropriate habitat will be chosen to provide each animal with the greatest likelihood of survival.
