Hawaii Wildlife Center

CARE AND CONSERVATION OF THREATENED NATIVE WINGED WILDLIFE.

PROVIDED CARE AND PROFESSIONAL REHABILITATION TO SICK AND INJURED NATIVE BIRDS AND BATS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF HAWAII. PROVIDED TREATMENT FOR A VARIETY OF INJURIES, ILLNESS, MALNUTRITION, EMACIATION, AND MORE. THE CENTER CARES FOR HUNDREDS OF NATIVE BIRD AND BAT PATIENTS ANNUALLY FROM THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF HAWAII, WITH A MAJORITY OF PATIENTS ORIGINATING FROM OAHU, MAUI NUI, AND HAWAII ISLAND. CENTER STAFF ALSO ASSIST WITH KAUAI PATIENTS FROM SAVE OUR SHEARWATERS WHEN REQUESTED. TO MAKE A STATEWIDE PROGRAM POSSIBLE, HWC MANAGED A STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK OF VOLUNTEER PILOTS AND DRIVERS, AS WELL AS COORDINATED VOLUNTEERS TO WORK IN WILDLIFE HOSPITAL AND PUBLIC AREAS. STAFF ALSO MANAGED THE OAHU SEABIRD AID PROGRAM, WHICH RESCUED OVER 600 BIRDS IN A FOUR-WEEK TIMEFRAME. HWC CONTINUED TO SERVE AS A WILDLIFE RESCUE HELP DISPATCH AND ANSWERED OVER 800 PUBLIC CALLS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

SERVED AS THE FISCAL SPONSOR FOR THE SAVE OUR SHEARWATERS PROGRAM, AN ORGANIZATION THAT PROVIDES PROFESSIONAL REHABILITATION TO SICK AND INJURED NATIVE BIRDS AND BATS ON KAUAI. THE SOS PROGRAM WAS CREATED IN 1979 AND HELPS HUNDREDS OF SEABIRDS AS WELL AS OTHER NATIVE WINGED WILDLIFE SPECIES ANNUALLY ON KAUAI. IN ADDITION TO MANAGING THE FISCAL OPERATIONS OF THE SOS PROGRAM, HWC ALSO PROVIDED ADDITIONAL VETERINARY SUPPORT TO THE SOS TEAM TO ENSURE THAT THE PROGRAM HAD ALL THE NECESSARY MEDICATIONS FOR PATIENTS IN THEIR CARE AND PROVIDED ACCESS TO SPECIALIZED MEDICAL PROCEDURES WHEN NEEDED THROUGH HWC PARTNERS.

HWC CONTINUED TO PROVIDE OUTREACH AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES TO LOCAL STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS. STAFF UTILIZED SOCIAL MEDIA TO KEEP THE COMMUNITY ENGAGED IN WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND TO SHARE UPLIFTING AND EDUCATIONAL CONTENT AND PARTNERED WITH WILDLIFE AGENCIES AND CULTURAL ENTITIES TO PUT ON THE FIRST EVER VIRTUAL "HAWK WEEK", HIGHLIGHTING THE HAWAIIAN HAWK, THE CONSERVATION CHALLENGES SURROUNDING THE SPECIES, AND HOW COMMUNITY MEMBERS COULD GET INVOLVED AND BE GOOD NEIGHBORS WITH THESE BIRDS. HWC WILDLIFE TEAM ALSO CONTINUED INTERNSHIP AND EXTERNSHIP PROGRAMS AT THE FACILITY. WILDLIFE REHABILITATION INTERNSHIPS PROVIDED AN INTRODUCTION TO NATIVE HAWAIIAN WILDLIFE REHABILITATION AND HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE IN ANIMAL CARE, WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND SOME ASPECTS OF VETERINARY MEDICINE. TWO-WEEK EXTERNSHIPS WERE ALSO AVAILABLE TO CURRENT VETERINARY SCHOOL STUDENTS TO BUILD CLINICAL SKILLS ALONG WITH THEIR ANIMAL CARE EXPERIENCE. THE EXTERNSHIPS PROVIDE VETERINARY STUDENTS EXPOSURE TO WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ISSUES AS WELL. INTERNS AND EXTERNS BOTH WORKED CLOSELY WITH OUR VETERINARIAN AND WILDLIFE STAFF.