Raptor Education Group, Inc (REGI) is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Antigo, Wisconsin Antigo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Langlade County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 8,100 at the 2020 census. Antigo is the center of a farming and lumbering district, and its manufactures consist principally of lumber, ...

, United States, dedicated to caring for injured or orphaned avian wildlife. It works with and temporarily cares for birds from

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

"for rehabilitation and educational purposes." REGI is a member of the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association,

Raptor Research Foundation The Raptor Research Foundation (RRF) is a United States based ornithology, ornithological society, focusing on the behavior, ecology, and conservation of bird of prey, birds of prey. It was founded on 11 February 1966 as a non-profit organization, ...

, and

American Ornithological Society The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...

History and work

REGI was founded in 1990 by Marjorie and Don Gibson. Marge Gibson is a past president of the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council. The stated goals of REGI are:

* To create a safe haven for injured wildlife while they heal and until they are ready to be released back into the wild. * To develop nutritional protocol, rehabilitation methods and husbandry based on the natural history of the bird to assure a successful release. * To create a broader understanding of native birds, their behavior and habitat needs among the public and the scientific community.

REGI focuses on helping

raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on v ...

s and

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

s, but accepts all wild birds. It cares for roughly 600 birds a year, over 150 birds at any one time. REGI has had as many as 13 bald eagles in its care at once, and rehabilitated 14 trumpeter swans with lead poisoning in winter 2009. It regularly cares for owls, bald eagles, and cranes as well, including those injured by hunting and

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

s. It has been recognized for its work by the governor of Wisconsin, and by news agencies across the country. A bald eagle suffering from

West Nile virus West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded RNA virus that causes West Nile fever. It is a member of the family ''Flaviviridae'', from the genus ''Flavivirus'', which also contains the Zika virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus. The virus ...

that was rehabilitated in 2002 has since been instrumental into research into the illness, having been tracked since its release into the wild. In 2008, the group rehabilitated a

sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on t ...

with an arrow shot through its torso, work that was noted in the UK ''Guardian'', ''San Francisco Chronicle'' and the ''Wisconsin Journal Sentinel''.

Educational outreach

REGI runs educational outreach programs at its facilities in Antigo, and in classrooms around

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

.See for instanc
this video
of Marjorie Gibson and some of their Owls on local television station WSAW. Its teachers bring birds they care for to classrooms as part of these programs. During the summer and fall tour season it is open to the public.

References

External links

*
IWRC Interview
with Marjorie Gibson
Miracle sandhill crane survives after arrow shot
in ''San Francisco Chronicle'' {{coord, 45, 06, 13, N, 89, 06, 20, W, type:landmark_region:US-WI, display=title Wildlife rehabilitation and conservation centers Protected areas of Langlade County, Wisconsin Parks in Wisconsin Education in Wisconsin Ornithological organizations in the United States Raptor organizations