What Wildlife Rehabilitators Do With Groundhogs

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The wildlife rehabilitator is a profession which is not always particularly recognized or appreciated, but they are individuals who spend a lot of time and effort in raising and healing animals so they can be released into the wild. This will give them a wide range of challenges to overcome, and they will often have a variety of different species that they will need to deal with too. The work of the rehabber is also quite varied, and here are a few of the tasks that they will carry out when they are asked to deal with a groundhog in need.



Assess The Animal's Chances Of Survival

The first step that they will carry out with every groundhog is to assess what the chances of survival are for the animal, as in a small number of cases they may not be able to help, or the pain involved could make euthanasia a kinder option for the animal. This assessment allows the rehabber to focus their attention on the animals that have a real chance of survival independent of human support.

Helping With Injured Groundhogs

Groundhogs are not the friendliest of animals at the best of time, but when they are injured they can be downright cranky, but the rehabber will look to help heal any minor injuries that the groundhog has a good chance to recover from. They are not going to be able to carry out surgery or any serious medical treatments, but they can certainly help these animals to get back on their feet.

Raising Baby Groundhogs

There are quite a few situations where wildlife rehabilitators will receive baby groundhogs, and in many cases it will be possible to raise them to adulthood. One of the pitfalls is that in many cases people will give the babies milk or water, but these can prove to do more harm than good, and may even be a contributor to the babies dying and being beyond the help of the rehabber.

Rehabilitating The Animals For Release

The ultimate aim of the wildlife rehabilitator is to get the groundhogs healthy enough to be able to be released, and this can take a lot of work to give the animals a chance of survival in the wild world. This kind of work is completed gradually, with smaller releases and temporary freedom, before eventually giving the animals the chance to set out for independence.

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