Returning Animals to the Wilderness

We hear the rattle and clang of a large animal lunging against the side of a cage, then watch as a conservation worker anesthetizes the 25-kilogram wild pig with a dart from a blowgun. A few minutes later, the worker lifts the unconscious animal from the cage. Caught in a snare a few days ago, the pig’s leg was severely injured and had to be amputated. We happen to arrive just as its wound is due to be cleaned and redressed. The vets in attend­ance place an anesthesia mask over the pig’s snout, connect the animal to machines to monitor its vital signs, and get to work dealing with the wound.

Once the procedure is complete, the worker returns the pig to its cage and then monitors the animal until it regains consciousness. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief when it awakens. This kind of rescue work is practically an everyday event here at the WildOne Wildlife Hospital in Chishang.

Chiang Yi Lun cleans a wild pig’s wound and then examines the animal. Looking at the stump of its amputated limb, one can imagine the pain and fear the animal experienced when trapped.

Saving wildlife

One morning near the end of 2015, Chi Meng-jou, then a veterinarian with National Pingtung University of Science and Technology’s Pingtung Rescue Center, received a phone call from a Taitung County Government official asking for her help with a For­mosan Reeves’ muntjac that had been mauled by stray dogs. The animal was at death’s door, and the county didn’t have anyone available to drive it to Pingtung. Chi rushed through the remainder of her day’s tasks, and hurried to Taitung with a colleague to collect the ­muntjac. They weren’t able to get it back to Pingtung and into an operating ­theater until late that night. By then the animal’s pulse had grown weak and erratic, and they had no choice but to euthanize it.

The muntjac’s death highlighted for Chi the lack of animal rescue resources in Eastern Taiwan. Hualien and Taitung Counties cover a vast area, but at that time didn’t have a single wildlife clinic. Instead, wild animals in need of care were sent to Western Taiwan. The long drive and associated agitation meant delayed care and increased suffering for the animals. This unfortunate state of affairs led Chi, fellow veterinarian Chiang Yi Lun and other like-minded friends to establish their own wild animal rescue organization, the WildOne Wildlife Conservation Association (WOWCA).

They then spent three years raising the funds they needed to set up their own facility. With the money finally in hand, they leased an unoccupied building at the Chishang Pastoral Farm Resort, and converted it into Eastern Taiwan’s only wildlife rescue and rehabilita­tion center, which began operating in August 2020.

The distance between

Economic development has resulted in human spaces significantly overlapping wildlife habitat, and Chi’s many years in wildlife rescue have shown her that most wildlife injuries are caused, directly or indirectly, by people. For example, when road construction fragments habitats, migrating animals are often killed by vehicles. When stray dogs attack muntjacs, it sometimes results in the death of both the muntjac and its unborn kid. And that’s not to mention the limb injuries that traps and snares cause to animals.

The center treated a crested serpent eagle that had been taken in by a member of the public but then kept in a cage so small and narrow that it broke the bird’s wing feathers. The person, who didn’t understand the bird’s dietary needs, also fed it oysters and other seafood, which they left in the cage to rot and breed maggots. The person kept the eagle for two weeks before taking it to WildOne, where a vet discovered that it also had broken bones from a previous accident. Unfortunately these injuries had been neglected for so long that the eagle’s joints had frozen and become untreatable. Having lost the ability to fly, the bird couldn’t be returned to the wild, and the hospital had to euthanize it. “If they had brought it in two weeks earlier, the outcome would have been different,” says a pained Chi.

Wildlife rescuers have observed innumerable similar cases. Chi recommends that people who happen upon a wild animal first observe it from a distance, and not act without thinking. They shouldn’t bring it home with them even if they’re certain that the animal is in difficulties. Every species has different habits and needs, and attempts by untrained individuals to care for wild animals are likely to do more harm than good. Instead, members of the public who encounter injured ­animals should dial 1999 for the local government hotline and inform the relevant agency of the animal’s plight. 

Expecting the unexpected

At WildOne, animal care is everyone’s mission. ­Every morning workers prepare fresh meals to meet each animal’s needs, purchasing some of the ingredients from the market and collecting others on regular trips into the countryside in order to habituate the animals to wild foods, because WildOne’s goal is to rehabilitate and release them, not to keep them in long-term captivity.

Walking through the WildOne Animal Hospital, you can’t help but notice that nearly all of the cages are covered with towels or heavy sheets. Conservation worker Liao Chao-sheng explains that wild animals confined in cages become agitated by people moving around them and anxious because they can’t flee. The covers insulate them from external stimuli, helping keep them calmer.

Putting themselves in the animals’ shoes, WildOne staff have noticed other things that are typically overlooked. When setting up the animal hospital, Chiang decided to call the pantry the “homo sapiens kitchen” and the animals’ feeding area the “wildlife kitchen.” The names are a way of expressing her belief that people and wildlife are equals, that we all live together in this world.

When WildOne receives an injured animal, it first evaluates the injury. If the animal can’t be saved, they euthanize it to end its suffering. If it can be saved, they then determine whether it can be returned to the wild. They consider euthanasia once again if an animal can’t be released back into the wild and WildOne is unable to provide it with an appropriate long-term living environ­ment. Once the hospital has treated an animal, it de­livers “in-patient” care until the animal has healed, and then begins training it for a return to the wild.

Liao says that when they evaluate an animal for release, they first determine whether it can move, feed, and conceal itself. An animal must be capable of all three to be a candidate for release. He recalls once treating a crested goshawk that was too weak to stand. Poor circula­tion had led to some of its toes swelling, turning black, and even dropping off. The goshawk’s condition improved under WildOne’s care, and it grew strong again. Liao eventually decided it was time to return the bird to the wild, and moved it to an outdoor training area. But once there, the condition of the goshawk’s right hallux (its “big toe”) worsened, causing it to favor its left leg. This caused its left foot to become inflamed, leaving it unable to hunt or even perch. Since returning the bird to the wild in this state would have meant leaving it to die, they felt they had no choice but to euthanize it.

Life’s impermanence is an everyday reality at Wild­One. The organization cares for creatures with broken bodies on a daily basis, and continues to see animals injured by traps and snares even though such devices are illegal in Taiwan. Yet, despite such frustrations, the workers there remain upbeat, filled with a quiet sense of purpose.

Chi Meng-jou’s mission in life is animal conservation. She recruited partners to found the WildOne Wildlife Conservation Association. (courtesy of WOWCA)

Pulling together

The hospital rehabilitated a bear cub that had blundered into Taitung’s Guangyuan Village and become separated from its mother. They named the cub Mulas, and over the course of ten months helped it grow from just four kilograms to 40 kg in weight. The young bear was ultimately released back into the mountain wilderness using a helicopter. Chi says that watching Mulas run into the forest made all their efforts worthwhile. “I was so proud of my team,” she recalls, tearing up at the memory.

But rescuing injured animals is only the tail end of wildlife conservation. If we want to stop these tragedies from occurring in the first place, we have to educate the public. WildOne gives presentations at elementary and middle schools throughout Eastern Taiwan in an effort to sow the seeds of respect for life at an early age. The group confronts the public with the troubles wildlife face by telling the stories of rescued animals via Facebook and in-person talks. WildOne believes that the only way to change the situation of wildlife in Taiwan is by making people more aware of it, and is adding an education gallery to its hospital to help people better understand its work. 

WildOne has received widespread support since its founding, and this year worked with Hotai Motor to build Taiwan’s first wildlife ambulance. The vehicle provides a clean, quiet setting for the delivery of urgent care to wildlife, and makes the trip to the hos­pital less stressful for the animals. This increases the rate at which they survive the journey, and enables more of them to return home.

WildOne is also addressing the lack of manpower in wildlife conservation by recruiting volunteers and compiling a handbook on wildlife care. Chi’s inspiration for this initiative was her experience volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation center in the US state of Minnesota. The center’s handbook on the housing and feeding needs of various animal species greatly reduces its manpower requirements by providing its volunteers with clear guidelines on care, enabling frontline workers to focus on treatment. This division of labor allows it to treat 10,000 injured animals every year with only ten formal employees. Chi’s experience there was eye-opening, and inspired her to bring the center’s methods to Taiwan.

Founded just four years ago, WildOne has thrown itself into a host of issues, ranging from animal rescue and public education to worker training and improvements to the working environment. It has tirelessly pursued its vision of wildlife conservation work while balancing its budget and manpower constraints. Hearing everyone involved with the group joyfully and enthusiastically discuss their expectations of conservation work, one can’t help but be thrilled that Taiwan’s wildlife have such committed advocates in their corner. Chi downplays the compliment, shyly telling us, “It’s nothing. We just like doing it.”

WildOne plants the seeds of respect for animals in children’s hearts through a variety of educational activities. (courtesy of WOWCA)

During its ten months in WildOne’s care, this young bear grew from just four kilograms to 40 kg in weight. Here, it is being released back into the wilderness. (courtesy of WOWCA)

Ruddy kingfisher (courtesy of WOWCA)

Collared scops owl

Crab-eating mongoose (courtesy of WOWCA)

Mountain scops owl (courtesy of WOWCA)

Crested serpent eagle

WildOne established Eastern Taiwan’s first wildlife rescue center in Chishang, Taitung County, where staff from all over Taiwan work together to implement their vision for wildlife conservation.

Returning animals to the wilderness requires all of us to work together. (courtesy of WOWCA)