There are no words in any human vocabulary to describe the unimaginable horror as Australia burns. There are emotions, deep-stabbing pains of grief, voids and the vacancy of loss, infinite vacuum of pain, but no words. Not one living thing consumed by this hell brought on by human greed and antipathy deserves this fate. I write this now, as my Australian colleagues have much more important things to do. I hope to voice some of their feelings, but I do not speak for them; I understand there is no possibility that I can ever know the pain they suffer. Looking...
17 December 2019November 4, 2021Kai
Spotlight on Aya Cockram
Aya joined the IWRC staff on December 2nd, 2019. You can find short bio’s on each of our staff members here! Q&A with Aya: Please share an early/childhood experience that was pivotal to your personal relationship to wildlife. When I was twelve years old my neighbor rescued a baby squirrel from the jaws of her dog. She gave the little one to me and my parents to care for. The process of researching squirrel care, building her an environment, getting to enjoy her presence and then, the bittersweet experience of releasing her had a significant impact on me during a...
13 November 2019November 4, 2021Brooke Durham
Mindful and Thankful of our Journey for Wildlife
With just a month or so to go before another year closes out, the team at the IWRC have been reflecting on our past couple of years’ accomplishments which are accelerating year on year. Front of mind is that none of our work is possible without the generosity of our supporters around the globe, and equally, that all of our work should be accessible, for all wildlife professionals, around the globe. Sincere thanks to all our members and industry supporters who recognise the value of the education we provide and believe in our mission; to provide evidence-based education and...
24 October 2019November 4, 2021Brooke Durham
In memory of Gary Bogue, an IWRC founding board member & JWR editor
IWRC founding board member and former Journal of Wildlife Rehabilitation editor Gary Bogue died at his Bay area home this September at age 81. In December of 1974, Gary, curator at the Alexander Lindsay Junior Museum, was one of eight individuals to sign the articles of incorporation for IWRC, at the time called Wildlife Rehabilitation Council. He had been involved with IWRC since the earliest of board minutes – January 17, 1974, and although I have no records, likely as early as a 1972 consortium of rehabilitators where the gem of IWRC began. In the late 70’s and early...
21 October 2019November 4, 2021Brooke Durham
Wildlife Disease Association 68th Annual International Conference (Part 3)
The following is the third in a short series of posts from IWRC staff and board members who attended the WDA Conference at Granlibakken Resort in Tahoe City, California USA in August 2019 Multiple-drug resistance in wildlife From the 2019 Wildlife Disease Association Conference, several presentations gave great cause for worry. The number of documented multi-antibiotic resistant infections in wildlife is increasingly more serious. Anthropogenic exposure is causing never-treated wildlife to host serious pathogens that will require specialized and aggressive antibiotic therapy; these organisms also could endanger rehabilitators and staff. Wildlife as diverse as the kodkod, also called güiña...
14 October 2019November 4, 2021Brooke Durham
Wildlife Disease Association 68th Annual International Conference (Part 2)
The following is the second in a short series of posts from IWRC staff and board members who attended the WDA Conference at Granlibakken Resort in Tahoe City, California USA in August 2019 Q&A with Julissa Angius What were your favorite talks/papers? (in no particular order) “They’re always there”: Characterizing rat exposure and its consequences among residents of an impoverished, inner-city neighborhood in Vancouver, Canada presented by Dr. Chelsea G. Himsworth This not not only gave an interesting look at how urban rats live and socialize, it gave commentary on the human aspect of those living around and...
05 October 2019November 4, 2021Brooke Durham
Wildlife Disease Association 68th Annual International Conference
The following is the first in a short series of posts from IWRC staff and board members who attended the WDA Conference at Granlibakken Resort in Tahoe City, California USA in August 2019 I’ve recently returned home from the 2019 Wildlife Disease Association Conference, my first one. I highly recommend this meeting to any academic or disease minded rehabilitator (2020 Spain, 2021 Madison, 2022 Georgia, 2023 Australia). The first keynote, by Dr Pieter Johnson focused on community ecology as a tool for understanding parasite interactions and anticipating disease risk. Traditionally these scientific ways of thinking had little overlap. This talk...
28 March 2019November 4, 2021Julissa
Spotlight on new board member Deborah Galle!
Please share an early/childhood experience that was pivotal to your personal relationship with wildlife. As a child, I LOVED wildlife. I would find toads, salamanders, snakes, bumble bees and hold them all! I was fascinated by their behaviors and could watch them for hours. When I was about 7 years old, I would visit two swans across the street – my home was in an area with a large marsh and wooded area. I would whistle for them and the pair would fly in with a big swoosh. They even allowed me near their nesting area and would approach me...
20 January 2019November 4, 2021Kai
2019 Board Updates
IWRC’s annual board and officer elections are complete. Breakdown of the results: Member Election Results Jayanthi Kallam *new board member Pat Latas *new board member Dani Nicholson (reelected) Board Appointed Individuals Deborah Galle *new board member Kristen Heitman (reelected) Mandy Kamps (reelected) Ashraf NVK (reelected) Officer Positions Adam Grogan has moved from his previous post as to president-elect to President and Sue Wylie our previous president has left the board after serving her full time allotment. Our other officer positions remain the same as 2018 with Mandy Kamps – vice-president, Kristen Heitman – secretary, Dani Nicholson – treasurer. Meet...
11 January 2019November 4, 2021Julissa
Words from Pat Latas DVM – IWRC’s newest board member!
Please share an early/childhood experience that was pivotal to your personal relationship with wildlife. I’m not sure that there was one experience, I was involved with the natural world from my first memories and before–there is a family photo of me in diapers bent over watching some ants…I suppose the moment I was old enough to recognize another being, looking at and evaluating me as an equal, was when a one-footed crow came to visit our backyard over several years. Who knows how it came about, but my family called him Jack, and he came to recognize his name...