Course offered for those interested in wildlife rehabilitation

Were you that kid who brought home the bird that couldn't fly and the injured wild animal? Then maybe you are the adult who would be interested in a program from the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife.

If you are interested in wildlife rehabilitation, and especially interested in becoming a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, then you will want to attend a Wildlife Rehabilitation Training Course.

The next offering of the course will be at Mercer County Community College on November 3-7, 2014.

This course is an alternative route to meet a portion of New Jersey State permitting requirements for wildlife rehabilitators. Successful completion of the course will count for 40 hours toward the 200-hour New Jersey apprenticeship permitting requirement.

This course is available to anyone wishing to gain knowledge about native New Jersey wildlife.

An injured baby raccoon is treated at the Woodlands Wildlife Refuge.

During spring and summer it is not uncommon for people to cross paths with young, seemingly orphaned or injured wild animals. What would you do? Should you feed it? Was it abandoned? Should you take it home? Is it hurt? Is it sick? Does it have a disease you should be worried about contracting?

The course includes wildlife rehabilitation history, licensing requirements and regulations, mammal, bird and reptile species identification and anatomy, proper handling, care and nutrition, medical procedures, and much more.

The cost of the course is $499 and registration information can be obtained from Mercer County Community College by calling 609-570-3311.

This announcement can be found at http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/news/2014/rehabcourse.htm on the Division 's website.