Deborah Galle, a longtime Connecticut-based wildlife rehabilitator joins host Gail Buhl to discuss caring for Eastern Cottontail Rabbits. Deb and Gail get into a lengthy discussion, so we've divided their talk into two parts. Here in Part 1, we learn about Deb's career path, which originally had nothing to do with wildlife. Later Gail poses the common question, "Why rehabilitate rabbits?" This episode also includes a bit about working with finders to better understand what may have happened to the animal and whether or not it really needs to be brought into rehabilitation. What is the severity of their injuries, if any? Does it appear to have been orphaned? Working with people is often one of the most challenging part of wildlife rehabilitation, and Deb brings a lot of wisdom about the people element of the process.

Thank you for joining us for Episode 3, and we look forward to seeing you back for Part 2 / Episode 4! Part 2 of Gail's talk with Deb gets more into the specifics of husbandry, including types of food and formulas used, bedding, charting progress, pre-release conditioning, and the lead-up to release.

If this episode seems familiar, you are right! In Season 1 Episode 14, Gail had a great discussion with Laura Davich from Rabbit Rebound about raising rabbits. Both guests remind us that there are many ways to do things correctly for the animals in our care. You will also notice a great deal of overlap too: Those are some of the sweet spots to pay attention to, especially the WHY. 

Special thanks to Partners For Wildlife and The Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. Our executive producer and host is Gail Buhl. Our producer is Kirk Klocke.

To learn more about The Raptor Center, visit Homepage | The Raptor Center (umn.edu). For more on Partners for Wildlife, visit Partners for Wildlife Home | The Raptor Center (umn.edu).