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WRR Launches Research & Conservation Program
 WRR
Launches Research & Conservation Program
by Dr. Oranit Gilad, Director, Research &
Conservation Program
In early July, Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation
launched a Research
& Conservation Program that is dedicated to the use
of scientific research to increase public knowledge and awareness
of wildlife issues, promote wildlife conservation, and create
a bridge between science and policy.
The program focuses on predator issues in
the state of Texas as well as other species of concern around
the world. The program advocates collaboration between interest
groups in order to promote wildlife conservation and emphasizes
the use of science as a basis for decision making and public
education.
The Research & Conservation Program is
headed by Dr. Oranit (Orie) Gilad, a conservation ecologist
who graduated with her doctorate in Zoology from Texas A&M
University in 2006. Orie worked on many international projects
in wildlife conservation; among them are Giant Panda research
in China, Arabian Oryx in Israel, establishing a wildlife
reserve in Costa Rica, Desert Bighorn Sheep in Western Texas,
and Mountain Lion research at Guadalupe Mountains National
Park.
 The
program's first initiative concerns Texas Mountain Lions.
The Texas
Mountain Lion Initiative is an important contribution
to mountain lion conservation that will ensure the long-term
existence of one of the largest predator species in Texas
and an important and necessary part of the natural ecosystems.
Under their current status as a non-game species, mountain
lions are unprotected in the state of Texas. They are not
managed under a wildlife management plan and no guidelines
or restrictions are set to regulate their killing; as a result,
mountain lions in Texas can be hunted indiscriminately throughout
the year, a practice that indicates a need for a responsible,
adaptive management plan.
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