This month, we delve into the topic of preparedness during a disaster, seen here in our blog entry last week. This week, we sat down with our board member and Treasurer, Mike Davidson to talk about financial preparedness in an event of an emergency. Mike is a senior auditor with Isler CPA, the IWRC’s accounting firm, and has experience in not-for-profit and financial institution audits, review of internal control and policy, and a strong knowledge in bookkeeping and review. What are some financial advice you can give to non-profit organizations in case of a disaster? Well, the most obvious is...
12 September 2014November 4, 2021Anna Loh
Surviving an Emergency
A fire incident that occurred on the afternoon of August 7 near Spencer Butte, Eugene, Oregon caused a gutted house, several burnt vehicles and charred trees. Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire and firefighters managed to prevent the fire from spreading. Located northeast of Spencer’s Butte, Cascades Raptor Center (CRC) decided to execute their evacuation plan the moment Executive Director Louise Shimmel saw a billowing plume of smoke a quarter mile away from the center. How important is it to have a disaster preparedness plan? “Extremely important,” said Shimmel. CRC’s detailed emergency action plan was put together by...
08 September 2014November 4, 2021Kai
Wild Within – A book review
Melissa Hart’s Wild Within is an engaging text that loosely intertwines the stories of her work with Cascades Raptor Center and her quest for an adopted child. Melissa sneaks in snippets of natural history and wildlife rehabilitation ethics, bringing this little known profession to a popular audience. The text provides a new volunteer’s view of wildlife rehabilitation, making it a valuable read for the seasoned professional as well as the general public. One section which mentioned a volunteer storing human food in the carcass freezer, never a good idea. But overall the book portrays wildlife rehabilitation responsibly; an expert author’s...
30 August 2014November 4, 2021Anna Loh
Platypus Rehabilitation
As August 30 is Frankenstein Day, we thought of an animal that checks all the boxes for being unorthodox and nature’s most unique specimen – the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). The platypus is a monotreme and one of the two that are only found in Australia, the other being the short-beaked echidna. The platypus has water-repellent fur, webbed feet and a leathery bill similar to a duck’s. They are difficult to observe in the wild because of their aquatic and nocturnal nature. Platypuses hunt underwater and are bottom feeders. Hence, one of their biggest threats is pollution and rubbish clogging the...
15 August 2014November 4, 2021Anna Loh
Peer-Review Process
Why do we have peer review? As wildlife rehabilitation is a fairly new profession, the credibility of the field and the work of wildlife rehabilitators are constantly questioned. IWRC’s courses are science-based with live classroom courses and online training options to choose from. In order to meet minimum knowledge standards, IWRC’s courses, journals and books are peer-reviewed and developed by professionals from different aspects of wildlife rehabilitation and medicine. These resources are both single- or double-blind reviewed and addressed to a scientific audience as well as individuals who are not from a science-based background. However, webinars and web content are reviewed...
12 June 2014November 4, 2021Kai
Jay Holcomb
Jay Holcomb: 1951 – 2014 On June 10th the wildlife rehabilitation community said farewell to Jay Holcomb, executive director of International Bird Rescue. The first evidence of Jay and IWRC getting together is in March 1974 Board meeting minutes, noting his attendance at that meeting, but not his status. Jay’s association with the organization started before IWRC was even incorporated (this happened later in 1974). Its not clear from the records when Jay officially came on the board, but he was there by 1977 and spent at least 12 years on the board. Jay was president from 1981 to...
14 April 2014November 4, 2021Kai
Thank You Rachel Carson
Thank You Rachel Carson A voice for wildlife Today is the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s death. Carson brought issues of bio-accumulation and pesticide toxicity to the attention of the general public with her seminal work Silent Spring. Carson gave voice (a voice the public listened to) to disturbing emerging problems using her expertise as a biologist and notoriety as a popular science author. Thanks in part to Rachel Carson we have witnessed the amazing recovery of bald eagles, peregrines, and osprey and the resurgence of songbirds voices. We do not suffer from silent springs bereft of birds, mammals, reptiles,...
13 March 2014November 4, 2021Kai
Post-Release Monitoring of Hand-Reared Songbirds
This guest blog post is a short paper on an ongoing research project. Enter the world of creating and executing a research project. The authors describe their set up, the frustrating lack of initial results, and changes made to improve the study. I’m looking forward to seeing what this year will bring! – Kai Guest writers Halley Buckanoff BS, CVT, CWR and Lynn J. Moseley, BS, PhD The Valerie H. Schindler Wildlife Rehabilitation Center (VHS WRC) at the North Carolina Zoo, in partnership with faculty at Guilford College, has been conducting a post-release survival study of commonly rehabilitated backyard, non-migratory...
14 January 2014November 4, 2021Kai
New IWRC Board Members
Welcome Kim Poisson and Kelly Donithan, recent additions to the IWRC Board. Kelly has been on the board since November, when she was appointed by the 2013 board to finish out a departing member’s term. Kim joined the board January 6th, elected by the IWRC membership. She will serve a three year term. Kelly Donithan Kelly is currently the Wildlife Rescue Program Officer for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, based at the international headquarters on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. IFAW’s wildlife rescue projects span the globe and include grizzly bear cub rescue and rehabilitation in Canada, orphan brown bear...
13 December 2013November 4, 2021Kai
Call for Papers
The International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council and the Ohio Wildlife Rehabilitators Association are proud to bring the annual IWRC Symposium to Cincinnati, OH December 1 to 6, 2014. This symposium provides a platform to discuss how wildlife rehabilitators, researchers, legislators and conservationists can work together to promote the survival of species at risk of extinction. Each surviving individual in a declining population carries a greater proportion of the genetic heritage of that population. We as rehabilitators assist in the survival of these individuals and so can contribute to the conservation of endangered species. Join us in Cincinnati and become part of...