Jessie, our Raptor Intern, is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Forest Resources with a concentration in Wildlife Management. She worked as an intern at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge in the Outer Banks of North Carolina before joining the intern staff at The Wildlife Center.

Responsibilities:  The Raptor Intern works directly under the supervision of the Rehabilitation Director to coordinate the care of approximately 600 native birds of prey annually during all stages of rehabilitation in order to prepare them to return to the wild. Daily duties include:  Assisting in admissions exams, supportive care and medical treatments, carrying out routine daily care and feeding of convalescent birds, and coordinating individual release prep plans for all releasable raptors.  Also, the intern is responsible for the care of non-releasable raptors in extensive educational display facility.  Raptor Intern will coordinate care of juvenile raptors through re-nesting and hacking programs, and will assist with rescue of raptors trapped in large buildings. 

The Raptor Intern receives training and performs duties in the following areas of raptor care:

Raptor Rescue:  Field rescue of trapped and downed raptors; re-nesting of nestling hawks, owls and vultures; and coordination of transport for injured and orphaned raptors from all parts of Alabama.

Emergency Hotline and Admissions: Receives training to provide advice and assistance for Hotline calls on a wide range of wildlife emergencies, and also to perform admissions interviews with the public for wildlife patients being admitted to the center.

Evaluation and Initial Care of New Patients:  Receives training to perform competent examination and evaluation of new raptor patients, along with performing stabilizing treatments for dehydration and emaciation, palpation of fractures and management of wounds, as well as recognition of symptoms of common diseases and parasites of raptors. 

Management of Intensive Care and Convalescent Raptors:  Housing, handling and feeding of intensive care and convalescent raptors, as well as nestlings and fledglings.  

Management of Non-releasable Education Raptors:  Daily feeding and cleaning, management of housing and furnishings such as perches, substrate, and water bowls, security concerns and general animal well-being, as well as maintaining good condition of beaks, talons, feet and feathers. 

Release Prep Planning and Developing: Works with the Rehabilitation Director on researching and developing special housing and foraging plans appropriate to each species and prepares and maintains appropriate facilities as needed.  The Wildlife Center currently has four hacking stations at different locations for the rearing and gradual release of nestling raptors.  The Raptor Intern is trained to manage a program of hacking for Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Broad-winged Hawks, Cooper's Hawks and American Kestrels.

Release Prep Monitoring:     Daily monitoring of foraging, socialization, weatherproofing, and general adjustment to release prep habitat, in order to ensure that animals are progressing normally.  

Cleaning and feeding:  Daily cleaning and maintenance of all cages, service areas and adjacent grounds associated with indoor convalescent and outdoor release prep facilities.

Food Animal Ordering and Care:  The Raptor Intern is responsible for ordering and maintaining an adequate supply of live and frozen rodents for all predatory animals at the Wildlife Center, and will coordinate the weekly rodent order with the Release Prep Facility at Smyer Lake.  Also responsible for daily care and maintenance of the Center's live rodents.

Release Assessment and Scheduling:  The Raptor Intern will maintain records on each patient being prepared for release and will work with the Rehabilitation Director to develop a Release Plan for each bird or group of birds, with target dates for foraging skills, fitness assessments and tentative release dates which can be re-assessed periodically.

Katie, our Avian Intern, earned a Bachelor's  Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alabama. She currently is working on a Master's in Molecular Biology. She conducted research in thermodynamics as an intern at Harrison Radiator and currently is researching the metabolism and intestinal performance of Garter Snakes during hibernation.

Responsibilities:  The Avian Intern works directly under the supervision of the Rehabilitation Director to coordinate the care of all avian species other than birds of prey during all stages of rehabilitation in order to prepare them to return to the wild. Daily duties include:  Assisting in admissions exams, supportive care and medical treatments, carrying out routine daily care and feeding of convalescent birds, and coordinating individual release prep plans for all releasable birds.  The intern is also responsible for the care of non-releasable birds.  The Avian Intern will coordinate care of any juvenile birds being returned to their parents, and also the fostering of young birds to the nests or nest boxes of foster parents.

The Avian Intern receives training and performs duties in the following areas:

Admissions Evaluation and Initial Care Protocols:  Receives training to perform competent examination and evaluation of new patients, along with performing stabilizing treatments for dehydration and emaciation, palpation of fractures and management of wounds, as well as recognition of symptoms of common diseases and parasites of birds. 

Emergency Hotline and Admissions: Receives training to provide advice and assistance for Hotline calls on a wide range of wildlife emergencies, and also to perform admissions interviews with the public for wildlife patients being admitted to the center.

Management of Intensive Care and Convalescent Birds:  Housing, handling and feeding of intensive care and convalescent birds, as well as nestlings and fledglings.  

Release Prep Planning and Developing:  The Avian Intern must be prepared to work with a broad range of species, including wading birds, shorebirds, waterfowl, and perching birds.  The Avian Intern works with the Rehabilitation Director on researching and developing special housing and foraging plans appropriate to each species and prepares and maintains appropriate facilities as needed.  The Avian Intern also maintains permanent casebooks on all successful rehabilitation of unusual species, so that techniques developed for that species can be readily accessed when the need arises. 

Release Prep Monitoring:     Daily monitoring of foraging, socialization, weatherproofing, and general adjustment to release prep habitat, in order to ensure that birds are progressing normally.

Cleaning and feeding:   Daily cleaning and maintenance of all cages, service areas and adjacent grounds associated with indoor convalescent and outdoor release prep facilities.

Food Animal Ordering and Care:   The Avian Intern is responsible for ordering and maintaining an adequate supply of mealworms and crickets for the use of all Wildlife Center patients, regardless of species.  As much as possible, the Avian Intern will maintain a breeding colony of mealworms to reduce the cost of this expensive food item.

Release Assessment and Scheduling:   The Avian Intern will maintain records on each patient being prepared for release and will work with the Rehabilitation Director to develop a Release Plan for each bird or group of birds, with target dates for foraging skills, fitness assessments and tentative release dates which can be re-assessed periodically.

Species Handled: The Alabama Wildlife Center receives a large variety of songbirds, such as Belted Kingfishers, Tufted Titmice, and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, as well as some wading birds, such as Great Blue Herons and Mallards. Some of the more common species include: American Robins, Carolina Wrens, Chimney Swifts, Mockingbirds, Mourning Doves and House Finches.

Ana, our Mammal Intern, is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife Ecology.

Responsibilities:  The Mammal Intern works under the supervision of the Rehabilitation Director to provide daily care for approximately 500 native mammals annually during all stages of rehabilitation in order to prepare them to return to the wild. Daily duties include:  performing admission exams, supportive care and prescribed medical treatments, carrying out routine daily care and feeding of infant, juvenile, or injured adult mammals, collecting laboratory samples, coordinating veterinary visits, coordinating release preparation plans.

The Mammal Intern will receive training and perform duties in the following areas of mammal care:

Methods on reuniting healthy orphans:  Many baby mammals are "kidnapped" by well-meaning individuals.  The Mammal Intern will assist the public in reuniting baby mammals with their mothers.

Handling procedures for low- and high-risk rabies carriers:  The Mammal Intern will receive training in the appropriate age and species-specific handling procedures to reduce the risk of injury and exposure to disease, and also to promote stress reduction.

Admissions evaluation and initial care protocols:  The Mammal Intern will receive training and be expected to perform competent examinations and evaluations of new mammal cases.  This will also include performing stabilization treatments for dehydration and emaciation, palpation of fractures and management of wounds, following standard quarantine protocols for high-risk species, and the recognition of symptoms of common diseases and parasites.  Training in humane euthanasia will also be provided.

Emergency Hotline and Admissions: Receives training to provide advice and assistance for Hotline calls on a wide range of wildlife emergencies, and also to perform admissions interviews with the public for wildlife patients being admitted to the center.

Management of intensive care and convalescent mammals:  Training in providing species- and age-appropriate housing, handling and feeding of infant, juvenile, and injured adult mammals will be provided.

Release Prep monitoring:      Responsibilities will include daily monitoring of foraging, socialization, weatherproofing, and general adjustment to release preparation habitats, in order to ensure that animals are progressing normally.

Cleaning and feeding: Working with available volunteer help, the Mammal Intern will be responsible for daily cleaning and maintenance of all cages, service areas and adjacent areas associated with indoor nursery, convalescent, and release prep facilities for mammals.

Food and medical supplies ordering and care of food animals:  The Mammal Intern will be responsible for ordering and maintaining a supply of milk formulas, nutritional supplements, medical supplies and food animals used during release preparation.

Record keeping, assessment, and scheduling:  The Mammal Intern will maintain written records on each mammal case during all stages of rehabilitation.  The Mammal Intern will work with the Mammal Supervisor to develop weaning target dates, vaccination and de-worming schedules, target dates for foraging and/or hunting skills, fitness assessment, and tentative release dates.

Species Handled:  Mammals received at the Alabama Wildlife Rehabilitation Center are largely orphans.   The Center commonly receives white-tailed deer fawns, beaver, woodchucks, raccoons, bats (primarily little brown, red, hoary, and Mexican free-tail), and red and grey foxes.  Armadillos, mink, otter, and bobcat, coyotes, weasels, striped and spotted skunks are received less frequently.  Admissions of the very common species—grey squirrels, opossums, and cottontail rabbits—are limited to avoid over-straining the Center’s resources.