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Becoming a Wildlife Rehabilitator in Colorado
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Curious about rehabilitating wildlife in Colorado?
You have a keen interest in wildlife and believe rehabilitating wild animals would be rewarding. You saw a television program or published article about rehabilitating wildlife. Maybe you found a wild orphan, took it to a wildlife rehabilitator, and thought "I might like to be a rehabber." All of these and more are reasons that prompt people to seek more information about wildlife rehabilitation.
If you found a wild animal in need and want to care for it yourself, go to 911 for wildlife, find and
contact a local wildlife rehabilitator, and immediately take the wild animal to that person. The wild
animal needs immediate aid from a qualified and
licensed rehabilitator. This help can greatly increase the animal's chance of survival – and you can learn about wildlife rehabilitation in a less
pressured manner. Wildlife rehabilitation Wildlife rehabilitation is the process of providing aid to injured, orphaned, displaced, or distressed
wildlife in such a way that they may survive when released back to their native habitat. Wildlife
rehabilitation is not just about loving wildlife, providing temporary care, and letting it go back into the
wild. Wildlife rehabilitation requires knowledge of natural history, biology, medicine, diseases,
parasites, zoonoses, caging,
release criteria and protocols, and wildlife laws. It requires special
diets, cages, and supplies, as well as special skills. A
variety of governmental regulations apply, requiring both state and, at
times, federal permits in order to possess wildlife. Wildlife rehabilitation
is a growing activity with a rapidly expanding knowledge base and ever
increasing standards. Caring about wildlife is important, but is only one
requirement of wildlife rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation in Colorado
There are about 120 permitted wildlife rehabilitators in Colorado. Most
rehabilitators are located on the Front Range and operate
small home-based facilities with both inside and outdoor cages.
There are less than a dozen
rehabilitation centers in Colorado
that are 'stand alone centers' that are not based at a home. Wildlife rehabilitation centers generally rehabilitate larger numbers of animals than home-based rehabilitators. While
home-based rehabilitation facilities may occasionally involve volunteers, larger rehabilitation centers depend on a substantial base of volunteer staff.
Since wildlife is the property of the state, permits to possess wildlife are required by the Colorado
Division of Wildlife (CDOW). As such, wildlife in temporary captivity, even if just for rehabilitation, remains under the authority of the CDOW. Both state and federal permits are required for
rehabilitating most birds, as well as threatened and endangered species (and marine mammals). The CDOW rehabilitation regulations may be downloaded from
Publications to help you learn about wildlife rehabilitation
Learn About Wildlife Rehabilitation is a short brochure that provides a brief introduction to the activity. It describes home-based wildlife rehabilitators who have their own rehabilitation permit and a facility on their own property (translation: home and yard), as well as larger wildlife rehabilitation centers.
Wildlife Rehabilitation: Is It For You? is a longer booklet with more detailed information on basic
rehabilitation activities. It describes basic requirements of wildlife rehabilitators, including time,
commitment, space, access to funding, knowledge and skill, a veterinarian, and relevant state and federal permits. It identifies some common myths about wildlife rehabilitation, such as wildlife
rehabilitation is a hobby, a fun activity, that loving wildlife qualifies someone to be a rehabilitator, and
that the government pays for rehabilitating wildlife. It suggests a variety of ways to help wildlife, by
volunteering with direct or indirect animal care, becoming a wildlife rehabilitator, or getting involved in other activities.
After reading the brochure and booklet, you should have a better idea of what is involved in being a
wildlife rehabilitator. Many people find that wildlife rehabilitation is different from what they expected.
Some may feel that time, space, or financial requirements of being a home-based rehabilitator does
not work at this time, but they are interested in volunteering for a wildlife rehabilitation organization.
Some will decide to pursue other activities that support wildlife, such as working on habitat protection
or wildlife education. Some may decide that rehabilitating wildlife looks like something that they want and can do, and seek more information.
Both of these documents identify some rehabilitation organizations in Colorado who are willing to talk
with you. In addition to providing general information about wildlife rehabilitation, they may refer you to other wildlife rehabilitators. Types of things rehabilitators need to know As mentioned before, rehabilitators need to know many things in order to provide the best care for
wildlife. The basic list, as developed in 1996 by a national task force of wildlife rehabilitators, including leadership from the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA) and the
International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC), includes the following for the species the applicant wants to rehabilitate:
A more complete description of
wildlife rehabilitation proficiencies was developed and offered by
WildAgain to support rehabilitation apprentices and their sponsors. The list of things to learn and
skills to develop as a rehabilitator is fairly long and may initially seem overwhelming. However, you
don't have to know all of this to get started! Rather this knowledge and skill can be achieved gradually by reading, training, watching videos, talking with resource people (rehabilitators,
veterinarians, biologists, and others), attending conferences, and lots of other ways. New wildlife
rehabilitators can, with the help of other rehabilitators and their sponsor/mentor, develop a plan to achieve a solid knowledge base with these items.
The Colorado
Division of Wildlife -
Special Licensing Unit,
which oversees wildlife
rehabilitation licensing,
has developed extremely
useful materials for people
interested in becoming
rehabilitators.
Visit their website
to see a flow chart about
the process, provisional
guidelines, examples of
learning plans, application
form, inspection form, and
more.
About wildlife rehabilitation sponsors A sponsor is required for a new rehabilitator to obtain a Colorado provisional wildlife rehabilitation
permit. The sponsor must have a Colorado wildlife rehabilitation permit. In addition, the sponsor
should have a solid foundation of knowledge and experience in rehabilitating wildlife. People with a
provisional wildlife rehabilitation permit are not allowed to sponsor new applicants since they are still
in a learning stage. Not all people with full rehabilitation permits may decide to be sponsors due to their own level of knowledge and experience, time limitations, and personal interest. The sponsor plays an important role in the training and development of a new rehabilitator. In many
cases, the sponsor will want the new rehabilitator to read rehabilitation resource materials, attend
training, and volunteer under the sponsor's direct supervision in order to develop basic knowledge and
skill. In addition, the sponsor has an important responsibility in advising the provisional rehabilitator
on the preparation of their facility, identification of critical resources and supplies, and overseeing the person's direct animal care.
Rehabilitators often have limited time available to train and sponsor provisional rehabilitators, Many
restrict the number of people they sponsor in order to give each person adequate attention and support. To decide whom they will sponsor, they will need to know more about your interest,
experience, relevant education, available time, and so forth. Some will ask you to complete a general information
application
to familiarize them with your interests and background (this is different from
the application used by the CDOW). Some will conduct an interview and possibly want to see where wildlife cages would be kept.
A rehabilitator may accept an applicant as a volunteer or agree to
sponsor him/her as a provisional wildlife rehabilitator. If the rehabilitator agrees to serve as a sponsor,
the applicant then needs to prepare the facility, complete the CDOW application and attach a letter
from the sponsor, and have the facility inspected by the CDOW.
In other cases, the
rehabilitator may recommend
that the person contact
another rehabilitator that
might be a better match for
the applicant's interests or
volunteer for another
organization. Selecting a sponsor
Some applicants assume their initial contact or the rehabilitator that lives closest to them will serve
as their sponsor. In some cases, this might be appropriate and work out great, other cases it does not. The contacts listed on the rehabilitation booklet, including the CDOW
One of the first steps is deciding which types of animals you want to rehabilitate: birds, mammals, or
herptiles. In Colorado, most people decide to rehabilitate birds or small mammals since they are
commonly admitted to rehabilitation. People new to rehabilitation are encouraged to start learning
and working with a relatively small number of species. This helps the person build their knowledge
and skill, and prepare their facility in a reasonable time and for less cost (rehabilitating a wider variety
of and larger species demand more extensive and costly facilities and supplies – up to many thousands of dollars). Not all rehabilitators may work with the species you may want to rehabilitate.
You will need to find rehabilitators who work with those species, will consider sponsoring provisional
permit holders, and are reasonably close in distance (there are different definitions of what a 'reasonable distance' is – it could range from 30 minutes to
several hours.).
Some applicants have found it helpful to understand the potential sponsor's rehabilitation training,
interests, and experience. Certainly find out what types of animals they rehabilitate and if those
match your interests. Ask them about their type of rehabilitation permit and how long they have had it
(they must have a full wildlife rehabilitation permit to sponsor provisional permit holders). What type of
experience do they have (types of species, ages of animals and types of conditions treated, general
numbers) and is it enough to train and oversee a provisional permit holder? What kind of training have
they had and how do they continue their rehabilitation education? Are they members of state or national rehabilitation associations? What types of reference materials do they have and suggest?
What do they expect you to learn and do as a provisional? What type of training and development do they provide or suggest for their volunteers or provisional permit holder? Also, what type of
communication and supervision do they expect with their provisional permit holder? How much time
can they provide to help a new volunteer or provisional? How are mutual expectations clarified? How will progress be determined? What type of feedback and learning support is available? Some of this information may be available when you talk with the potential sponsor. You could also
talk with other provisional rehabilitators that the person has sponsored. Consider how you feel about
learning from and working with this potential sponsor. If one sponsor does not seem to be a close
match for your interests and learning style, it is acceptable to consider other options. Making the
arrangement for a rehabilitation sponsor is a joint decision between the applicant and the sponsor. Getting started as a wildlife rehabilitator
By now, it is clear that wildlife rehabilitation has many different aspects. While it takes time and effort
to get a permit and become a qualified wildlife rehabilitator, being able to provide effective help to wild
animals in need, and see them released back to the wild is a tremendous achievement. Becoming a wildlife rehabilitator is not easy, but it is achievable and very worthwhile.
Thanks for your interest in wildlife rehabilitation in Colorado.
WildAgain Wildlife Rehabilitation
Colorado has two types of wildlife rehabilitation licenses. One is for a full wildlife rehab activity that specifies the species that may be rehabilitated. The other is a "Provisional" license, that requires the holder to have a sponsor to work with. This provisional license is for the purpose of training new rehabilitators.
The Colorado state wildlife rehabilitation regulations are listed in Chapter 14 of the Colorado Division of Wildlife Regulations.
Remember that if you desire to rehabilitate most species of birds, you will also need a migratory bird permit issued by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Copyright 2008. © WildAgain Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc. All Rights Reserved unless otherwise stated.