When the Partners for Wildlife (P4W) team engages with its network of wildlife rehabilitators and centers, it’s striking how significant the role of raptors— particularly young raptors—is in the sector.

Raptors are one of the few groups that are legally eligible for rehabilitation in all seven of P4W’s focus states, which means young raptors comprise a significant percentage of wildlife rehabilitation caseloads and makes their care and management a high priority for the program.

Armed with the knowledge generated by The Raptor Center’s (TRC) world-class operations, P4W seeks to help rehabilitators improve the welfare of young raptors in their care. The program issues grants to help rehabilitators improve their infrastructure and services and provides increased access to training of best practices through mentorship by P4W’s partnership coordinator and supporting additional training opportunities.

During P4W veterinary fellowships, renesting and caring for young raptors is an important educational discussion for both rehabilitators and veterinarians. As the P4W team plans out this year’s offerings and initiatives, both a regional workshop and a public outreach campaign incorporating information on young raptors are under consideration as major efforts. Extending the expertise generated by TRC to other practitioners and the public continues to be at the core of P4W’s efforts.