Carolina Raptor Center

CRC’s rehabilitation program is a teaching program

Few raptor centers in the country handle as many patients as CRC. This high patient load provides an enormous amount of data for future research. It also provides a great environment for learning. High school and college students, adult volunteers and interns, veterinary students, rehabilitators and educators - they all come to CRC to take advantage of the hands-on opportunities we can provide. For several years, CRC has hosted groups of veterinary students from NCSU-College of Veterinary Medicine for a one week veterinary "selective", allowing students to immerse themselves in raptor rehabilitation and medicine at CRC’s rehabilitation center.

This "selective" has now been expanded to a new, more ambitious program for veterinarians and veterinary students called the Medical Environmental Research and Learning INstitute (MERLIN©). One of the main objectives of the MERLIN© program is to increase the knowledge base of veterinarians, particularly concerning the medical care of raptors, and to increase the preparedness of veterinarians for issues relating to human-wildlife interactions such as bio-contaminants (mercury, pesticides), avian flu, and other zoonotic diseases that can be transferred from birds to humans.

The MERLIN© program will directly impact a small segment of the population: veterinarians and veterinary students; but the large-scale, indirect impacts of this program are enormous. Veterinarians serve as the bridge between people and animals, and are relied upon for their knowledge and expertise in the care of all animals, including wildlife. As human-wildlife interactions continue to grow in number due to increased human populations and decreased land and habitat available to wildlife, it is increasingly important for veterinarians to be skilled in the health and medical care of wildlife. Because the study of raptor medicine can reveal the presence of bio-contaminants such as mercury and pesticides, which can have negative consequences for human health, knowledge of avian health will assist veterinarians with effective public education. Furthermore, as zoonotic diseases such as avian flu and West Nile virus continue to spread and have an impact on the human population, it is crucial that veterinarians have a solid foundation in avian medicine so that they are effectively able to understand these diseases and accurately communicate the potential threats and viable solutions to the general public.

The MERLIN© program offers veterinary students and professionals engaging, hands-on experiences with raptor medicine and provides knowledge not normally acquired in standard veterinary school curriculum. This program is designed to provide veterinary students and practicing veterinarians with the skills and expertise needed to effectively diagnose raptor injuries and prescribe proper medical treatments.

The MERLIN© program is available year-round as 2-week RaptorVet© externships. RaptorVet will allow the participant to gain first-hand experience by working with the rehabilitation staff on actual cases. In addition, the clinical rotations will be supplemented with daily lectures and labs.

The starting dates are:

May 06, 2009 Completed

Jun 22, 2009 Completed

Sep 14, 2009 Completed

Oct 26, 2009 Completed

Jan 11, 2010 Completed

Feb 22, 2010 Completed

Apr 12, 2010 Completed

May 17, 2010 Completed

Jul 26, 2010 Full

Sep 20, 2010 Full
Nov 01, 2010

Feb 14, 2011 Full

Mar 14, 2011

Apr 11, 2011

The cost for externship is $395. Financial aid may be available (see below). For more information, please download this brochure and poster

Note that financial assistance is available through a scholarship fund that has been established from private donations. This fund may pay for part of your tuition fee. Also, housing assistance may be available.