Pros and cons of being a wildlife rehabilitator and how I became one

If you have any specific questions please don't hesitate to ask!

These are just my opinions from experience.

[tiffanilynn]

I found a baby racoon covered in flies/ticks and maggots today at the park. The Wildlife Center sent a volunteer to the park to meet me and she took the racoon with her. She said the little one was about 3 or 4 weeks old. This sparked an interest in Wildlife Rehabilitation!

[BunniBooLillian]

Do you recommend volunteering before actually applying for jobs, or does it not matter?

[vinimes]

Do you think you can make a comfortable living being a wildlife rehabilitator and do you have like vacation time to travel around?

[shainamichalski]

Starting to look into getting into this career path now, so this was helpful. Unfortunately there really isn’t a lot of money to be made, but that’s why the people that do it, are so caring. This is definitely a job field for people who want to care for and help animals, as opposed to someone who is looking for a fat bank account. You get rich from fulfillment, not from cash. Money can’t make you happy. It can make somethings easier, but it will never fill those missing pieces. A career like this would give me purpose.

[aliciajolley]

Thank you so much! I am looking into Wildlife Rehab as a future job and this was very helpful.

[RenLT]

Thank you so much for this information. I was looking into wildlife biology but I knew it wasn't quite for me. This has helped me so much!

[Avocetexotics]

Where I live, wild life rehab centers are always completely full. I've called multiple times and one lady eventually just told me "if you want it (a squirrel) to live, your just going to have to figure it out yourself or let it die", because of this, I've raised two baby squirrels one of which I'm currently raising. Luckily I've been obsessed with all animals since I was very little and had done tons of research on how to raise, rehab, and release all different types of wildlife, just because I thought it was interesting. It is definitely alot of work, especially when they are so little and you have to do around the clock feedings. People are constantly asking me if I will take baby squirrels on that they find. I always try to guide them to a proper rehabber, but the next best thing I can do is take them in. It definitely is hard when people who don't know what they are doing try to take matters into their own hands. One time a 13 year old boy had shot the mom outside of squirrel season and then the next day found two baby squirrels on the ground who obviously had major head trauma because they were bleeding out of their ears. He tried to feed them cows milk and then called us, one died less than 5 minutes after we got there to pick it up and the other about an hour after. But it is definitely worth it when you see an animal you have put so much time into teaching it how to find food on its own and making sure they have the skills they need to be wild, finally be released. I just started doing research on how to because a licensed wildlife rehabber and to possibly pursue it as a career. As someone who is still in school though, is there certain education you need (ie. A college degree) or is it more experience based?

Edit: I also want to add that I called every local vet, wild life rehabbers, a wildlife park, and local game wardens, so taking them in myself definitely wasn't a quick decision and I tried all I could to have them go to a proper rehabber.

[starrriaa]

I personally never volunteered ever since I could remember ive always used to walk outside and see abandoned cottontails or skunks and ill take them home with me and give them formula and love rehabilitate them and put them back into the wild so as i got older (past 18) my question was “now how do I do this legally?” so I live in illinois which even if you have a wildlife permit you cannot rehab skunks or a wide variety of birds. long story short I recently rehabbed this baby skunk and I had to go out of town so I had to find someone that I knew would care for them so in illinois if u find abandoned skunks they can euthanize them so I crossed states lines with the baby and drove 4 hours to indiana and the lady has her own skunk rescue shes a wildlife rehabilitator and she saw my work what I do and she asked could I work with her and she’ll put me under her license so im moving to indiana so It can be legal. but if you’re worried about the long hours ive been rehabilitating since I was 14 im used to setting my clock every hour throughout the night to check on the baby make sure they’re still alive feed them, poop them etc overtime It becomes clockwork and you dont even feel tired you just do It. I LOVE my job I have skunks, and opossums in my home and its all work its the best job ive ever had and id never trade It for anything in the world

[Savannahhh._.]

I love animals and just hanging out with them but I also want a job that I get paid enough. Would u say wildlife rehabilitators get paid a lot, in the middle, of just average amount of money?

[averyfrost]

I was actually looking into this field as well! Thank you for the information, it really does help. Do you have an educational background that helped you advance in the field? Or is most of what you learned from the volunteering?

[joelle]

Is zoology or wildlife biology a good major if this is what I want to do once out of school?

[tj-outdoors]

What did you go to school for? I would love to become a wildlife rehabilitator but have no idea what to take in school to help me get the job.

[zlaynie]

Lol sounds like they got A LOT of free labor out of you!! Wheeew!

[maiaroberts]

I am currently in my second year of university, with an Environmental Studies major and Environmental Biology/Spanish minors. Do you think that is enough biology to get a job as a rehabber? I know I want to work directly with animals/nature in the field, but I'm not the best at science so I'm worried I won't look attractive to those types of jobs.

[Israel-IS-Socialism]

You’re so fcking lucky

You bottle fed a raccoon??? No way

[ConservativeHippie]

My dream job but I need do make enough to take care of my kids and I. Sigh

[thirdeyereptiles]

What state do you live in to where you at least got min wage? Here in Ct we have one rehab center & it’s all volunteer based but you have to have a bachelors degree… I just want to get my license and be able to rehab from home ❤️

[MoonLiteNite]

I would assume it is low pay, because in many states these have to be non-profits and i believe there are tight tight rules on charges that can be sent to someone, if at all any. So basically it is all volunteer work for everyone involved and you hope for donations to keep a center running.

[LabeilleCreative]

I'm in my third year of Graphic Design so far but I've recently been wanting to work with animals, for some reason 2020 gave me that clarity. If all goes well with the remainder of college, and I can sustain myself with design, well I think I'll be on my way to another degree.

[nadicabozanic]

Where did you apply to volunteer? Is there a specific page where they look for people or are there sites where you sign up yourself? Can people from other countries come? If you could just give me a few names of those organizations to research a little? I'm from Serbia, so I can't find such things here, so this video means something to me! Thank you very much 😁