SynthesisPloS one2022
A systematic review of factors affecting wildlife survival during rehabilitation and release.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Methodological rigour and reporting quality of the literature on wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and release: a global systematic review.The veterinary quarterly · 2025Pooled it
- A phylogeny-informed mathematical modeling of HPAI H5N1 transmission dynamics and effectiveness of control measures.One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2026Article
- Eurasian Red Squirrels (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Helminth infection dynamics in rehabilitating Javan slow lorises are driven by time since deworming rather than host traits.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2026Article
- A Retrospective Analysis of Wildlife Rehabilitation Trends in Lithuania over Two Decades.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Survival Prospects of Wild Birds Depending on the Type of Injury and Other Stressors Leading to Hospitalisation: A Long-Term (1988-2020) Retrospective Study from an Urbanised Area of the Alps.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Article
- Easy rescues, difficult decisions: Advancing the ethical dialogue in wildlife triage, treatment and rehabilitation.Animal welfare (South Mimms, England) · 2026Review
- Veterinary medicine in reintroduction and reinforcement of the European pond turtle Emys orbicularis: a review.BMC veterinary research · 2025Review
- Classification of Clinical Outcomes in Hospitalized Asian Elephants Using Machine Learning and Survival Analysis: A Retrospective Study (2019-2024).Veterinary sciences · 2025Article
- Prognostic factors in bushfire-affected koalas-Kangaroo Island bushfire response 2020.Australian veterinary journal · 2025Article
- The Fragile First Year: GPS Tracking Identifies Post-Release Survival Risks in Migratory Geese.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Worth the Effort? Rehabilitation Causes and Outcomes and the Assessment of Post-Release Survival for Urban Wild Bird Admissions in a European Metropolis.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Short-range Bluetooth monitoring method for tracking, monitoring and follow-up of low-mobility wild species, Choloepus hoffmanni sp.Biology open · 2025Article
- Successful rehabilitation and release of two severely injured Formosan black bears (Ursus thibetanus formosanus) with desensitization to routine treatment procedures.BMC veterinary research · 2025Article
- The flexibility of social learning and its conservation implications in mammals and beyond.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2025Review
- Strategies for integrating animal social learning and culture into conservation translocation practice.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2025Review
- Suitability assessment protocol for the release of raptors for rehabilitation: Based on the Delphi method of animal-focused welfare indicators.Open veterinary journal · 2025Article
- Factors determining the survival or mortality ofBiodiversity data journal · 2025Article
- Reasons for admission and post-release survival of UK rehabilitated herring gulls (Animal welfare (South Mimms, England) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Millions of native animals around the world are rescued and rehabilitated each year by wildlife rehabilitators. Triage and rehabilitation protocols need to be robust and evidence-based, with outcomes consistently recorded, to promote animal welfare and better understand predictors of wildlife survival. We conducted a global systematic review and meta-analysis of 112 articles that reported survival rates of native mammals and birds during rehabilitation and after release to determine intrinsic and extrinsic factors associated with their survival. We assessed survival during rehabilitation and in the short- and long-term post-release, with the hypothesis that survival will vary as a function of species body size, diel activity pattern, trophic level and study location (region of the world). We aimed to determine the direction of effect of these factors on survival to assist in decision-making during triage and rehabilitation. Results showed that mammals and birds were equally likely to survive all stages of rehabilitation, and survival rates varied between locations. Birds in North America had the poorest survival rates post-release, particularly long-term, as did diurnal and carnivorous birds in the short-term post-release. Anthropogenic factors such as motor vehicle collisions and domestic or feral animal attack contributed to morbidity and post-release mortality in 45% (168 of 369) of instances. The reasons for rescue and associated severity of diagnosis were commonly reported to affect the likelihood of survival to release, but factors affecting survival were often species-specific, including bodyweight, age, and characteristics of the release location. Therefore, evidence-based, species-specific, and context-specific protocols need to be developed to ensure wildlife survival is maximised during rehabilitation and post-release. Such protocols are critical for enabling rapid, efficient rescue programs for wildlife following natural disasters and extreme weather events which are escalating globally, in part due to climate change.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.