Into Wildlife Rehabilitation: First Responders

If you found an injured wild animal, what would you do? There are many myths and misinformation about how to rescue animals, and doing the wrong thing can add stress or make the situation worse. The best thing to do is to contact a professional wildlife rehabilitator.

In this episode, Into the Outdoors Adventure Team members, Zach and Sophie come across an injured young bird. Professional rehabilitators from Fellow Mortals Wildlife Hospital in Lake Geneva, WI, help them sort through the “dos and don’ts” of wildlife rescue: when to leave it alone, how to contain it, keep it warm and seek additional care.

Students will also learn about career and volunteer pathways in wildlife rehabilitation through interviews with Fellow Mortals staff. Wildlife rehabilitators offer medical care to animals, like veterinarians do, but they see hundreds of different species! They care for the animals 24-7, which might include hand-feeding and regular cleaning, until the animals are ready to be released back into the wild.

Zach and Sophie celebrate how compassion prompted them to act as “Wildlife First Responders” and seek care, which ultimately saves the bird’s life. They share additional information on how we all can help prevent injuries or orphaning of wild animals.

    Full Video

    Classroom Videos

    Wildlife Rehabilitation: A Calling of the Heart

    Protecting Wildlife: You Can Help

    Classroom Assets

    Wildlife Rehabilitation: A Calling of the Heart

    Protecting Wildlife: You Can Help

    RElated Content

    Into Hunting and Conservation

    Anyone, anywhere can get started hunting with the right tools and guidance! Hunting anywhere is challenging, especially for an inexperienced hunter.  In order to be...

    Reconnecting Rivers & Invasive Species

    Maybe it's only natural that us humans rarely think about how our actions today might impact others or the environment 100 years later. That was especially true back in...

    Into Forestry: Heroes of the Forest

    There are heroes out there. You may not recognize them, hiding in the trees, but they are there. Agents doing their job with skill and strength, wielding the most...
    Mapping the Mysteries of the Great Lakes. Man and women walking on sand towards Great Lake

    Mapping the Mysteries: Great Lakes Careers

    When a school career fair leaves the team uninspired, Diane, Jack, and Terry split up to chase down real careers around the Great Lakes—from the harbors of Sheboygan,...

    Into National Marine Sanctuaries

    The earth's oceans are home to thousands of species of marine life, from tiny plankton to enormous humpback whales. The Great Lakes' contain more than six thousand...

    Extreme Survival Strategies

    How do Polar vortexes, climate change, record storms, extreme weather of all kinds play havoc on our ecosystems and all the species that live there? Discover the...

    Wild About Walleye

    Welcome to Wild About Walleyes as part of our Getting Families Fishing Series. As you’ll discover in this TV show and related classroom videos, walleye fishing offers...

    Into Wetland Conservation

    In this Into the Outdoors episode, we’re taking you to South Dakota to learn about how wetland habitats are being protected on both public and private lands. Join Into...

    Safety and Etiquette: Becoming A Responsible Boater

    Boating safety courses are essential for teaching new boaters about the rules of the waterway and how to safely operate a boat, but there are some "unspoken rules" that...

    Becoming Stewards – Waste Resource Management

    As our demand for resources grows, our output of waste rises ... Follow our young ITO leaders as they unearth all that goes into landfills and explore waste resource...

    Thank you, Partners!