CARE OF THE WILD: Family First Aid for All Wild Creatures

by W. J. & John Hughes Jordan ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1983

A first-rate primer on the care and return to the wild of injured, diseased, or orphaned animals--but not really for the person who chances upon a bird with a broken wing. Hughes (England's SPCA warden) and Jordan (zoologist and director of the People's Trust for Endangered Species) pool their extensive knowledge of wildlife to provide crisp, detailed instructions on everything from how to safely approach, capture, transport, and treat wild animals (whether a swan with a broken leg or a poisoned fox); to what to feed them (dead, clay-old chicks for raptors; an ""otter will sell its soul for an eel""); to what type of shelter to provide. One-third of the book is on birds, with a special chapter devoted to oil pollution and the painstaking care necessary for thoroughly ridding birds of oil. Potential handling hazards are noted for each animal discussed (""Do not hold any bird near your face""), as are potential dangers to the animals from human contact. When an animal is either dangerous (wounded deer) or impossible to handle (beached whales), help should always be sought, we learn, from the Fish & Wildlife Service or a local wildlife rehab center (a US list is provided). To discourage ill-treatment of commonly maligned creatures, a number of old myths are dispelled; a tarantula's bite is not deadly, and bats are small, clean, inoffensive animals. Welcome on its own terms, then, and incidentally informative.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Rawson/Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1983

Categories: NONFICTION