Wildlife rehabilitation centers and their potential for citizen science

Under growing anthropogenic pressures, wildlife rehabilitation organizations care for sick, injured and displaced wildlife. Records on admitted wildlife are increasingly used for scientific research to understand threats to wildlife, including diseases. As volunteers are actively involved in wildlife rehabilitation, their contributions can be viewed as a form of citizen science. However, we know little about rehabilitators’ backgrounds, motivations, and experiences with data collection and research. To fill this gap, we interviewed representatives from thirteen Dutch wildlife rehabilitation centers and surveyed 205 Dutch rehabilitation volunteers. Our findings show that rehabilitators are primarily driven by an interest in and a desire to help animals. Women and middle-aged volunteers were overrepresented in the sample, compared to the Dutch population, while educational and employment background as well as their attitude towards science, were representative. Regarding the data collection, they are positive about the quality although finding location can be improved. Rehabilitators are open to sharing the data, especially to study success rate and diseases. Interviewees believed that education is an important part of their work. However, taking on tasks like research and education are experienced as challenging due to a lack of time and funding. The involvement of wildlife rehabilitators in scientific research could extend the benefits of citizen science to a broader and more diverse audience than typically reached by citizen science or nature volunteering. By understanding wildlife rehabilitators' roles, challenges, and preferences, this study highlights the potential to involve them in scientific knowledge generation, thereby broadening the scope of citizen science.