Unit name | Wildlife Care and Rehabilitation |
---|---|
Unit code | VETSM0037 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Ms. Barrows |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Bristol Veterinary School |
Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
The aim of this unit is to provide students with practical skills in wild animal handling, husbandry and nursing, and the ability to administer first aid to wildlife found injured or otherwise incapacitated. Topics to be covered will include animal capture and handling techniques, the assessment, emergency stabilisation and transport of injured animals, subsequent treatment (including wound care and administration of medication), the maintenance of captive animal health, hand-rearing of neonates, zoonoses of wildlife, and the release and rehabilitation of wildlife back into the wild, as well as post-release monitoring. Attention will also focus on the major causes of wildlife casualties, the limitations of non-professional treatment, legal, welfare and ethical issues associated with treating wildlife and methods of emergency euthanasia. By the end of this unit students should have both the theoretical knowledge and practical competency to deal with a wide variety of practical situations that they might encounter while working as professional Wildlife Biologists.
On completing this unit students should be able to:
This unit will be taught using a combination of lectures, seminars, video and practical classes based at Langford and Bristol Zoo. Practical demonstrations by qualified wildlife clinicians will be used to teach applied subjects such as remote injection techniques, patient assessment including measuring temperature, pulse and respiration, bandaging materials and techniques, assisted feeding, the correction of dehydration, post mortem techniques and laboratory skills. Subgroup teaching will be used for some clinical topics. A seminar session will allow students to demonstrate their understanding of wildlife management in a real-world incident such as an oil spill. The students will be provided with e-resources for this unit through the Blackboard online learning environment. These resources will include all the lecture notes and handouts, additional background reading, supporting material and links to subject-related websites.
The students’ performance on this unit will be assessed using:
The following are some examples of basic texts - others will be recommended by individual tutors during their teaching sessions: