Online Class: Wildlife Rehabilitation — An Introduction

no certificate
with CEU Certificate*
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12Lessons
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22Exams &
Assignments -
1,107Students
have taken this course -
7Hours
average time -
0.7CEUs
Course Description
Imagine the moment: a tiny, injured animal in your hands, frightened and vulnerable, unsure of its future. But with your knowledge and compassion, you give it a second chance at life. This is the heart of wildlife rehabilitation—a profession that merges science, skill, and compassion into one life-changing mission. Our Wildlife Rehabilitation Course is your path to becoming not just a caretaker of animals, but a guardian of the wild, someone who makes a real, tangible difference.
This course isn’t just about learning the basics—it’s about transforming your passion into expertise. Whether you’re rescuing a bird entangled in netting, nurturing an orphaned fawn, or rehabilitating a wounded raptor back to health, this course prepares you for every challenge and triumph that comes with caring for injured or abandoned wildlife. You will develop the confidence to act swiftly in rescue situations, the skills to provide medical care, and the knowledge to support recovery until these animals can thrive again in their natural habitats.
But what makes this course truly exceptional isn’t just the depth of information—it’s the connection you’ll build with the wildlife you help. You’ll delve deep into species-specific care, learning the nuances of everything from songbirds and small mammals to reptiles and majestic raptors. Each creature has its own needs, behaviors, and health requirements, and you’ll emerge from this course with a thorough understanding of how to address them all. This is more than a training program—it’s a masterclass in empathy, science, and hands-on care that readies you for the real world of wildlife rehabilitation. With real-life case studies and in-depth discussions on complex topics—like handling nuisance wildlife and making tough decisions around euthanasia—you’ll be prepared for even the most emotionally challenging aspects of the job.
Most importantly, you’ll finish this course with a renewed sense of purpose. You’ll not only know how to rehabilitate animals, but you’ll understand how your work fits into a larger conservation effort, helping preserve biodiversity and protect fragile ecosystems. By the time you complete this course, you’ll be more than ready to step into the field, equipped with both the knowledge and the heart to make a lasting impact.
Now is the time to transform your love for animals into something powerful. Don’t just stand on the sidelines—become the hero wildlife needs. Take this course and start making a difference today.
Course Motivation
Imagine standing in your backyard, and you come across an injured wild animal—what would you do? Many of us, with good intentions, would try to help, but without the right knowledge, things can quickly go wrong. Our Wildlife Rehabilitation Course is designed to ensure that you're never left uncertain when you encounter wildlife in need. Whether you're passionate about nature, love the idea of making your backyard a sanctuary for animals, or are considering a career in wildlife rehabilitation, this course will give you everything you need to confidently and compassionately care for wildlife.
This course goes beyond just theory—it's about equipping you with practical, hands-on skills to save lives and make a real difference. From learning how to assess an animal's condition and provide first aid to understanding species-specific care, this course is immersive and transformative. We don’t just teach facts; we teach you to act with precision and care in even the most challenging situations. Every lesson builds on the last, ensuring you're prepared to handle everything from common injuries to complex rehabilitation processes.
By the time you complete the course, you won’t just have gained knowledge; you’ll have a deep understanding and readiness to intervene, save lives, and support the natural world around you. This is more than just a learning opportunity—it’s your chance to be a guardian for the voiceless creatures that rely on us. Take the step to enroll today, and become the hero wildlife needs!
- Completely Online
- Self-Paced
- Printable Lessons
- Full HD Video
- 6 Months to Complete
- 24/7 Availability
- Start Anytime
- PC & Mac Compatible
- Android & iOS Friendly
- Accredited CEUs

Course Lessons
Lesson 1. A Step-by-Step Guide to Wildlife Rehabilitation: Understanding Care, Challenges, and Compassion
Rehabilitating wild animals involves managing physical healing, behavior, and environmental factors, such as those encountered in oil spills. The focus is on maintaining wild instincts and avoiding human dependency to prevent potential dangers post-release.Lesson 2. Rescue or Retreat? Understanding When Animals Need Human Help
To safely assist wildlife, personal safety must always come first as injured or scared animals can be unpredictable. Wearing protective gear and observing the animal's behavior are essential steps to ensure both your safety and the animal's successfully recuperating back into the wild.Lesson 3. Wildlife Rehabilitation: A Comprehensive Approach
Providing immediate care to injured wildlife involves understanding anatomy and behaviors, treating injuries and infections, and working hands-on with veterinarians. Recognizing the psychological stress of captivity and nutritional needs are key to promoting long-term survival post-release.Lesson 4. Balancing Instinct and Compassion in Wildlife Care
Pre-release evaluation ascertains an animal's readiness for the wild by testing physical and psychological capabilities, such as hunting and social skills. It's vital the animal can independently source food and exhibit healthy fear of humans for survival after release.Lesson 5. Songbird and Aquatic Bird Rehabilitation 101
Songbirds require species-specific nutritional care, including high-protein insect diets for chicks, and environment adaptation for agile flying and foraging skills before release. Their rehab process involves evolving housing conditions from temperature-controlled enclosures to flight cages simulating natural habitats.Lesson 6. Carnivore Care: Protocols for Rehabilitation
The Carnivora order showcases diverse species with shared traits like carnassial teeth, yet they exhibit wide-ranging diets from strict meat-eaters to omnivorous feeders. Rehabilitating these animals requires respecting natural behaviors while providing appropriate diets, housing, and minimizing human interactions to avoid dependency.Lesson 7. From Stress to Success: Understanding Rodentia and Lagomorpha
Euthanasia in wildlife rehabilitation is an emotionally challenging decision guided by ethical considerations to prevent further suffering from incurable conditions in animals. Compassionate care through euthanasia, when justified, is vital to maintaining the welfare of wildlife in rehabilitation.Lesson 8. Avian and Mammalian Rehabilitation: An In-Depth Guide to Raptors and Bats
Successful bat rehabilitation intricately balances dietary needs with social and natural habitat mimicry to avoid human dependency. They are key players in maintaining biodiversity, controlling insect populations, and pollinating plants.Lesson 9. Deer and Antelope: Rehabilitation Essentials
Wildlife rehabilitators are essential for providing expert care to various mammals, including Artiodactyls such as deer and antelope, by understanding their unique behaviors and nutritional needs. Correct housing, feeding, and socializing practices are crucial to ensure these animals can return to the wild successfully.Lesson 10. Marsupials in Focus: A Tale of Two Continents
Possums, despite their pest label in urban areas, are vital for pest control and demonstrate resilience with unique defense strategies like playing dead. Their rehabilitation involves managing dietary shifts and preparation for self-sufficiency, supporting their continued ecological contributions.Lesson 11. Ancient Survivors: A Guide to Reptile Rehabilitation
Most reptiles lack parental involvement, making juvenile care unique compared to mammals. In rehabilitation, intervention is primarily necessary for sick, injured, or displaced hatchlings, while most are self-sufficient.Lesson 12. Final Reflections: The Complex World of Wildlife Care
Deciding between relocation and euthanasia highlights the nuanced challenges faced by wildlife rehabilitators, who must balance animal welfare with ecosystem health. This lesson emphasizes the rehabilitator's role as an educator and advocate, guiding effective and humane responses to wildlife interactions with human spaces.
Learning Outcomes
- Define wildlife rehabilitation as the professional care of injured, sick, or orphaned wild animals for the purpose of safe release back into their natural habitats.
- Recognize the differences between domesticated, wild, and feral animals and explain how these differences impact their rehabilitation and interaction with humans.
- Demonstrate the ability to equip oneself with appropriate safety gear and tools for wildlife rescue, ensuring minimal stress and harm to both rescuers and animals.
- Identify signs that indicate an injured animal requires human intervention, such as profuse bleeding or neurological symptoms.
- Correctly identify and implement a warming protocol for hypothermia in wildlife, utilizing safe heating sources and minimizing stress.
- Demonstrate the ability to apply pressure to a wound using sterile gauze to effectively control bleeding in injured wildlife.
- Describe the necessary dietary and environmental conditions needed for the rehabilitation and release of arboreal animals such as squirrels and certain primates.
- Demonstrate the ability to identify and classify animal activity patterns as diurnal, nocturnal, or crepuscular based on observable behaviors.
- Describe the critical housing and environmental conditions necessary for the successful rehabilitation of songbirds from nestling to pre-release stages.
- Identify the specific nutritional requirements for both songbird and aquatic bird species in rehabilitation and demonstrate how to meet these needs effectively.
- Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the anatomical adaptations and feeding behaviors of wild cats, canids, and bears in wildlife rehabilitation.
- Identify appropriate housing and rehabilitation protocols for successfully releasing rehabilitated carnivores, including methods for minimizing human interaction to prevent imprinting.
- Identify and describe key adaptations in rodents that support their survival across diverse habitats, including dental and dietary features, within a rehabilitation setting.
- Demonstrate mastery of lesson content at levels of 70% or higher.
Additional Course Information

- Document Your Lifelong Learning Achievements
- Earn an Official Certificate Documenting Course Hours and CEUs
- Verify Your Certificate with a Unique Serial Number Online
- View and Share Your Certificate Online or Download/Print as PDF
- Display Your Certificate on Your Resume and Promote Your Achievements Using Social Media

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Time to complete | 6 months |
No. of courses | 1 course |
Certificate & CEUs
This course only
Includes certificate |
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Includes CEUs |
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Self-paced |
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Instructor support |
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Time to complete | 6 months |
No. of courses | 1 course |
Certificates & CEUs
Includes all 600+ courses
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Includes CEUs |
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Self-paced |
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Instructor support |
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Time to complete | 12 Months |
No. of courses | 600+ |
Certificates & CEUs
Includes all 600+ courses
Includes certificate |
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Includes CEUs |
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Self-paced |
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Instructor support |
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Time to complete | 24 Months |
No. of courses | 600+ |
Student Testimonials
- "I thoroughly enjoyed this class. While I knew somethings about rehabbing, I also learned about other animals, and it was good to have to research animals in my area that I would not otherwise have done. I have no experience with Songbirds so that was interesting. I really enjoyed Lesson 4: Wildlife Rehabilitation standards. I learned a lot from the terminology. In fact, I printed it off so I could look at it again and try to memorize them! Opossums and Squirrels are my favorites!" -- June H.
- "This course was very helpful and very informative. I learnt a lot that I knew very little about and am going to start volunteering at a vet with my knowledge from this course." -- Gabriella W.
- "I loved this course I enjoyed every lesson and I learned so much. Thank you so much I appreciate your help. I would recommend it to anyone interested in wildlife rehabilitation. This course had everything you needed." -- Tina K.
- "This course was truly helpful. I learned allot of new information and this course will definitely help me with my future job." -- Charlene O.
- "Very good course. Lots of great information. Will help a lot with future rehabbing." -- Pam B.
- "I rather enjoyed the course and definitely taught me a few things I didn't know." -- Jason M.
- "The videos were extremely helpful." -- Warren Y.
- "This was great, thank you." -- Emily M.
- "It was pretty easy to navigate throughout the course." -- Rebekah C.
- "What was most helpful were the clear and concise directions on how to help an animal while injured or sick." -- Cortney S.