Importance of Sanctuaries and Rehabilitation Centres for Wildlife

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Wildlife".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 September 2024) | Viewed by 6304

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK
Interests: conservation; agroforestry; bio-loggers; biodiversity; translocations; animal behaviour; ecosystem services
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Guest Editor
School of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UK
Interests: stress; wildlife management; conservation education; outreach; primates; animal behaviour
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sanctuaries and rehabilitation centres are increasingly considered viable settings for research and conservation planning. Most sanctuaries and rehabilitation centres provide large, naturalistic physical and social environments, which may result in more relevant models of wildlife counterparts than those provided by other captive settings. Research on animals from sanctuaries and rehabilitation centres includes investigations into behaviour and welfare, cognition, physiology, genetics and parasitology. Applied conservation measures carried out by sanctuaries and rehabilitation centres include translocations and post-monitoring. Some sanctuaries allow ecotourists to interact with animals, and heavily rely on ecotourism as their principal income. For this Special Issue, original research articles, commentaries and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Rehabilitation, translocation and post-monitoring;
  • Impact of COVID-19 on sanctuaries and rehabilitation centres;
  • Physiological responses to rehabilitation;
  • Welfare and pathologies;
  • Behaviours and stereotypes;

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Marco Campera
Dr. Michela Balestri
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • translocation
  • monitoring
  • welfare
  • stereotypes
  • pathologies
  • ecotourism

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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16 pages, 1207 KiB  
Article
Morbidity and Prognostic Factors Associated with Wild Hedgehogs Admitted to a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Catalonia (NE Spain) from 1995 to 2020
by Rafael A. Molina-Lopez, Elena Obón and Laila Darwich
Animals 2024, 14(4), 556; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14040556 - 7 Feb 2024
Viewed by 1309
Abstract
Wildlife rehabilitation centers (WRC) play a crucial role in the collection of data and the monitoring of hedgehog populations. The main objective of this study was to identify the morbidity and prognostic factors associated with the mortality of wild hedgehogs admitted at a [...] Read more.
Wildlife rehabilitation centers (WRC) play a crucial role in the collection of data and the monitoring of hedgehog populations. The main objective of this study was to identify the morbidity and prognostic factors associated with the mortality of wild hedgehogs admitted at a WRC in Catalonia. A total number of 3397 hedgehogs admitted from 1995 to 2020 were studied. The principal cause of admission was orphaned/young category (41%) followed by misplacement (19%), natural disease (17%), and trauma (14%). The best outcomes for release were for misplacement (93.6%), orphaned/young (72.3%), and other causes (77.6%), and the lowest proportion of released animals were found for natural disease (41.4%) and trauma (44.7%) categories. The most common macroscopic findings were the respiratory and digestive lesions. Internal parasites were also prevalent in 61% of the animals but with no association with a higher mortality. In the multivariate analyses, the prognostic indicators related with the mortality outcome were the presence of systemic (OR = 3.6, CI 95%: 2.8–4.6) and neurological (OR = 4.3, CI 95%: 2.9–6.4) signs. Morbidity and prognostic factors in wildlife rehabilitation are essential for providing effective care, making informed decisions, optimizing resources, and improving rehabilitation success rates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Importance of Sanctuaries and Rehabilitation Centres for Wildlife)
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10 pages, 617 KiB  
Article
COVID-19’s Impact on the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance: Challenging Times and Resilience from Its Members
by Nora Bennamoun, Marco Campera, Gregg Tully and K.A.I. Nekaris
Animals 2023, 13(9), 1486; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13091486 - 27 Apr 2023
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Abstract
The worldwide pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 challenged conservation organizations. The lack of tourism has benefited or negatively affected wildlife organizations in various ways, with several primate sanctuaries struggling to cope with the COVID-19 crisis and to keep providing for their inhabitants. In addition, [...] Read more.
The worldwide pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 challenged conservation organizations. The lack of tourism has benefited or negatively affected wildlife organizations in various ways, with several primate sanctuaries struggling to cope with the COVID-19 crisis and to keep providing for their inhabitants. In addition, the genetic similarity between great apes and humans puts them at higher risk than any other species for the transmission of COVID-19. PASA is a non-profit organization comprising 23 sanctuaries, and cares for many species of primate, including African great apes. In light of the pandemic, we aimed to understand the direct effects of COVID-19 on PASA management throughout three time periods: before (2018–2019), at the start of (2019–2020), and during (2020–2021) the pandemic. We collected data via annual surveys for PASA members and ran Generalized Linear Mixed Models to highlight any significant differences in their management that could be linked to COVID-19. Our findings demonstrated no particular impact on the number of primates rescued, employees, or expenses. However, revenues have been decreasing post-COVID-19 due to the lack of income from tourism and volunteer programs. Nonetheless, our results reveal a form of resilience regarding the sanctuaries and the strategy applied to maintain their management. Consequently, we emphasize the specific impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and its repercussions for conservation work. We discuss the difficulties that sanctuaries have faced throughout the crisis and present the best measures to prevent future outbreaks and protect biodiversity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Importance of Sanctuaries and Rehabilitation Centres for Wildlife)
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9 pages, 2391 KiB  
Case Report
Porcupettes Management at Wildlife Rescue Centers and Liberation into the Wild: Implications for Post-Liberation Success
by Francesca Coppola, Chiara Dari, Giuseppe Vecchio, Marco Aloisi, Giorgia Romeo, Claudia Biliotti and Antonio Felicioli
Animals 2023, 13(9), 1546; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13091546 - 5 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1550
Abstract
The crested porcupine is a frequent host species in wildlife rescue centers and no guidelines for its management, liberation and post-liberation monitoring are yet available. Here, captive-grown porcupines’ behavior and survival in the wild after liberation were investigated and described for the first [...] Read more.
The crested porcupine is a frequent host species in wildlife rescue centers and no guidelines for its management, liberation and post-liberation monitoring are yet available. Here, captive-grown porcupines’ behavior and survival in the wild after liberation were investigated and described for the first time. Management strategies adopted at the centers could affect porcupine adaptation to the natural environment. The detention of porcupettes in single cages and fed only human-supplied food may not ensure ethological welfare, nor a suitable behavioral development compatible with wildlife. The liberation of captive-grown porcupines should also be carefully planned to promote and increase the possibility of post-liberation success. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Importance of Sanctuaries and Rehabilitation Centres for Wildlife)
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