🌲 Release · 6 min
Deciding an animal is ready
Why this matters
You will have wasted every hour you invested if you do not release as carefully as you rehabilitate.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to
- Apply the three-part readiness test
- Explain why tamed or imprinted animals are not released
- Describe soft release and when it is required
Injured wildlife is rehabilitated with the express purpose of release back into native habitat as soon as they are healthy. It is completely unethical to release disabled animals with little or no ability to compete and survive.
Three things to check, in order
- Health. Can it fly, swim or run well enough to perform all the life functions of its species: find food and shelter, escape predators, reproduce, migrate?
- Behavior. Is it normal for the species? Tamed or imprinted animals are unlikely to breed successfully and are in danger of becoming problem animals.
- Location and timing. Appropriate habitat, with food available for that time of year, in a place where competition or aggression from others of its species is minimized.
Soft release
In the vast majority of cases you cannot expect a rehabilitated animal to survive if you simply take it out into the woods and let it go. Young animals, and adults that have been in care for extended periods, may need a soft release: a support system while they explore their surroundings and learn to find food, water and shelter. Young predators in particular need time to develop hunting skills. Supplemental food at the release site is usually sufficient, though needs vary by species. Hacking is the term for this slow release technique, used often with raptors.
Where to let it go
Release close to where the animal was found is particularly important for:
- Adult animals, which usually hold established territories and know the local resources
- Social species such as wolves or crows, where returning to the family group may be crucial
- Non-migratory species, which may be territorial year round
- During the breeding season, when good territories are occupied and residents are at their most defensive
- Rabies vector species, which have their own release regulations
For young animals of migratory species, or species whose young disperse widely, the precise release location matters less. And if the original habitat has been destroyed by an oil spill or fire, release at a suitable alternative location.
Two conditions to remember
Release in suitable habitat at or near where the animal was taken from the wild, and with the landowner's permission. This license is not a license to trespass.
Part of a rehabilitator's job is to continually balance eventual release against euthanasia. Neither one is the default.
This lesson is part of the NY Wildlife Rehabilitator Exam course. Open it in the course to answer the retrieval checks that go with it, track what you have read, and quiz the whole unit. Lessons, quizzes and the glossary are free.