ANIMAL HAVENS: REHAB RESCUED ANIMALS AT WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES

Admittance to a wildlife sanctuary is often the only thing that saves an injured or orphaned animal from a painful, imminent death.

Many animal havens and wildlife sanctuaries operate as rehabilitation sites, providing physical therapy and critically-needed emergency and long-term medical care to wildlife in need. Although it is comforting that such animal sanctuaries exist, the reasons they are necessary are disheartening:

• Every year, hundreds of thousands of baby birds, mammals, and other animals are orphaned when their parent(s) are killed by hunters, poachers, or by accident. Many of these animals are brought to wildlife sanctuaries by the general public or by individuals involved with wildlife rehabilitation and welfare. With the help of wildlife rehabilitators and dedicated volunteers, some of these animals can be returned to their natural habitats.
• Similarly, hundreds of thousands of injured animals — victims of hunters, abuse, vehicular accidents, or natural events — are cared for and, when possible, rehabilitated and returned to the wild.
• Some animals that have been the subjects of experimentation or that have performed in circuses or other forms or entertainment, including elephants, primates, tigers and other big cats, and bears, are "retired" to wildlife sanctuaries. Unfortunately, these animals can never be returned to the wild, and so they live out their days in a refuge.
• People who think it would be "fun" to own or breed exotic or wild animals, such as a tigers, chimpanzees, or alligators, often discover that they cannot handle or properly care for the animals and look for ways to dispose of them. If the animals are lucky, they find their way to an animal sanctuary.

Some animal havens are only able to handle a dozen or so animals and are very limited in the number of new creatures they can add to their fold. These wildlife sanctuaries generally are dedicated to large animals, such as tigers, elephants, and primates, who typically spend the rest of their days in the facilities. Other wildlife refuges open their doors to thousands of orphaned, abused, or abandoned birds and/or small mammals, providing them with needed medical care and rehabilitation, and then release those that can be safely returned to the wild.

Animal havens and the dedicated individuals who run and maintain them typically operate on a shoestring; with no government funding. Most of these sanctuaries rely on volunteers like you to help them provide much-needed services — services that are needed 365 days a year and often around the clock.

Although it is necessary to receive special training to be a wildlife rehabilitator, you can participate in many other activities that are vital to the comfort and welfare of the wild animals in the care of an animal sanctuary. For example, you can: build habitats, feed baby animals, prepare food, clean cages, help transport animals, help with educational activities, monitor and document recovery during rehabilitation, repair and build fences, answer the phones, or assist with fundraising. Every task is important, whether it's a hands-on activity with an animal or a job that frees up an experienced rehabilitator to do his or her specialized work.

Depending on where you want to go and your interests and talents, you could, for example, help gibbons in Thailand, swans in the United Kingdom, monkeys in Ireland, marsupials in Australia, or wolves in North Carolina.

To help you find compatible wildlife sanctuaries from among the many around the globe, you can check out the following sites and contact the animal sanctuaries through their active links:

• Green People provides a list of more than 300 animal sanctuaries by state, Canadian province, and country
• The Open Directory Project has an alphabetical list of more than 200 wildlife rehabilitation centers around the world
• How to Find a Wildlife Rehabilitator provides links to US contacts (by state) and international contacts (outside the US)

Whether you have a few days, a few weeks, or a few months to spend helping wildlife in need, it’s sure to be time you'll never forget. Before you go on your volunteer vacation, you might want to read up on what wildlife rehabilitation is all about. The Wildlife Rehabilitation Information Directory and The Association of Sanctuaries can offer you some insight.

Bon voyage!