Practical applications of Infrared Thermography in the rescue,

recovery, rehabilitation and release of wildlife following

external exposure to oil.
Judith Reese-Deyoe
Raven Infrared

ABSTRACT
As oil exploration, industry, and transportation reaches every corner of the globe, so too do the risks of the
inadvertent and hazardous exposure of wildlife to oil based pollutants. Once an accidental release has
occurred and wildlife has been exposed, persons or trained teams may respond to counter and correct the
often lethal affects of oiling. Practical applications of Infrared Thermography have yet to be fully applied to
such events and it is here proposed to be a potentially valuable tool at many of the sequential phases of
wildlife rescue: from recovery, rehabilitation and ultimately to release.

In early 2008 under the direction of US Fish and Wildlife Service, 31 oiled and injured Bald eagles were
transferred from Kodiak Island and admitted to the Bird Treatment and Learning Center, in Anchorage,
Alaska. This impromptu urban opportunity facilitated the first official local application of Infrared
Thermography for Eagle assessment and monitoring, but has since yielded encouraging quantitative data,
comparative digital documentation and baseline procedural recommendations for similar practical
applications.

In light of these developments - radiometric thermal imaging may also be well suited for remote wildlife rescue
scenarios by providing: day or night location of heat emitting survivors; immediate enhanced qualitative visual
assessments of rescued animals; aid in injury diagnosis; quantitative, non-invasive monitoring during
treatment; easily captured and stored digital documentation; and the establishment of species specific
thermal insulating criteria which may be used to validate rehabilitation and ultimate release of treated birds
and mammals.

Figure 1. An oiled Gannet just before being rescued at Prestige Oil spill. This bird and
thousands of others were affected by a tanker spill off the Spanish Coast in 2002 (IFAW Photo)

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INTRODUCTION
This paper is an investigative report summarizing and suggesting practical applications of Infrared
Thermography in the rescue, recovery, rehabilitation and release of wildlife following external exposure to oil.
A recent application case history follows.

Did you know that a seemingly harmless glob of oil the size of a dime could kill a bird? Every year
millions of water birds die due to oil from a plethora of sources such a jet skis and outboard motors, to the
very oil washed off our streets after a rain. We remember all too well the devastating effects of those spills
that occur when tankers accidentally loose their cargo, but there are thousands of small spills occurring daily
and around the world that go unreported and unnoticed.

Wildlife inadvertently exposed to oil-based pollutants inevitably find the substance adhering to fur and
feathers; causing matting, separation, loss of thermal insulation, loss of buoyancy and sensitive skin
exposure. Ingestion of the substance frequently follows as the animal’s instinctual response to preen and
clean becomes incessant. This process then accumulates harmful toxins within the body which severely
compromise the internal organs and may lead to death. The rapid response and effective actions of wildlife
rescue teams in the field are critical elements in intercepting this deadly cycle and moving impacted animals
to higher probabilities of survival.

Figure 2. Left - An oiled sea lion awaits treatment Right – example of a Seal Thermogram, Courtesy of the
Alaska Sea Life Center

As in any disaster, an orderly progression of steps and processes can guide the responding groups to their
goals with maximum efficiency. In a wildlife response effort the steps involved are variably stated but
ultimately the same - they entail the initial response by the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN - activation);
the rescue and retrieval of the affected wildlife(OWCN Search and Collection); the assessment and treatment
(OWCN – Intake and Stabilization); the rehabilitation (OWCN – Cleaning) and the ultimate recovery and
release (OWCN – same). It is through these steps –each one uniquely diversified and incredibly valuable that
I believe Thermal Imaging can and will debut its own uniquely diverse potential. For to see the emitted heat
of a stranded animal as a marker of location; or an indication of injury; or a quantifier of health; a qualifier of
heat loss; or a form of documentation is the future of Infrared in our world. Transferred to us on a
wavelength, invisible but measurable, we have a new integral interpretive tool that represents the temporal
state of an energetic condition in time. Infrared Thermal Imaging can be and will be the next technological tool
to expedite and enhance the future efficiency of our responsible aid to oiled wildlife.

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APPLICATION OF THERMAL IMAGING IN WILDLIFE RESCUE

Rescue and Retrieval:

After more than 30 years of military management and development, Infrared technology was released from its
secrecy and was given to the American people in the late 1970s. Despite its diversified capabilities –
equipment costs and fear laden follies had IRs mysterious potential shelved or discredited, until just recently.
As the public entered the electronic/information age, the place for Infrared in our
lives was honed by military marvels, marketing and movies of miraculous
technologies that will someday revolutionize our lives. For example, we are all
aware that most contemporary efforts in search and rescue are most effectively
done from the air. An aerial platform affords us a greater field of view, a more
perpendicular view minimizing some obstacles and a speedy way to cover more
ground. But the limitations to this method are our inability to see great distances;
to perceive objects of minimal contrast or small size; to see during the night or low
light and to discern what we see if we are moving rapidly. What one tool or
technology could possibly take all these limitations and mitigate better results?
Infrared Thermal Imaging could and that’s why our airplanes, missiles and space
crafts come fully equipped with IR devices, see example in figure 3.
Figure 3. Aircraft mounted
thermal imaging camera

To rescue an animal in need, it must first be located and this is where IR applications can be beneficial as
shown in figure 4. When it comes to locating injured albatross; oiled auklets or wallowing walrus along vast
lineages of coastline, on open oily oceans or hauled out in vegetative debris – thermal imaging which
captures the heat emitted from all bodies, can for most circumstances well exceed our ocular capabilities for
distance, contrast, acuity, cognition and night vision. Thermal imaging requires zero light and actually visible
light is blocked by the lens which allows only certain wavelengths of infrared radiation to enter the receiving
imager or bolometer. So searching at night when time mandates; when the weather is calmer; when
operations dictate; when survival is the issue or when aircraft are available can be a very positive possibility.
Also, at night because of diurnal cooling, the temperature differences widen between the environmental
background and the objects which emit a consistent temperature (such as a mammal or bird) so this
enhances the contrast of objects in the thermal image sometimes making objects/animals more visible – over
greater distances. The ability to see objects more easily over greater distance is always relative to the size of
the object, the contrast rendered by its emitted temperature, the distance from the object and the atmospheric
attenuation relative to that distance and the sky conditions between the imager and the object such as
moisture, dust, smoke etc.

Figure 4. Left--Grebe thermal detection Mono Lake, CA; Center-- Sea Otter Thermal signature; Right-- Thermal
detection of gulls on the beach Alaska

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With the advent of other associated tools such as GPS, radio telemetry, cell service, target lock, laser
pointers, thermal paletting and video recording, detection of an animal in need with IR whether from a boat,
raft, airplane, or on-foot, can be quickly and easily documented by location coordinates or pictures or
“pointing” and then rescue and retrieval may follow implemented. The speed and efficiency that birds and
animals may be found can be imperative to their survival. In remote locations transportation resources can
also be in short supply dictating accelerated efforts and pointed accuracy. Infrared also finds people, whether
you are looking for them or not, but can be useful in situational awareness; public safety, poaching operations
or missing crew members.

An important limitation to consider is if the target you are looking for is not giving off heat (homeostasis) or
that heat has diminished to an emitted temperature similar to that of the surrounding environment, you will be
challenged to find the target with IR. Experimental imaging of oil coated wildlife also needs to be done so as
to identify the conductive or insulative property of the coating pollutant and make note of what the thermal
signature of that species, in that condition is for future rescue references.

Assessment and Treatment:

It isn’t any wonder that the horse racing industry has been using thermography on Thoroughbreds for over 25
years – look what those horses are worth! Obviously they deserve the best, but where does that leave us?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved thermal imaging as an acceptable breast screening
modality in the 1980s. Despite worldwide applications and utilization, it seems as though thermal imaging has
yet to make a shadow for itself in veterinary science and medicine. Possibly, as more zoos follow the lead of
San Diego and Berlin, both the diagnostic and monitoring potentialities of IR will be shared and understood.
As a certified medical thermal imaging Technician, the powerful insights and non-invasive practicality of
thermal imaging brings it to a close 2nd behind lifestyle choices for an investment in good health and early
detection.

For assessing health and subsequently diagnosing a condition, the IR camera again captures the emitted
heat as received from the surfical layer of the skin (outer 5mm in Humans) and translates the energy readings
into an image that has a facsimile to the animal or person being read. The heat that is detected is a dutifully
transferred byproduct of our largest organ – the skin- which is tasked with thermoregulation throughout the
body. The activity of small sphincter valves throughout the skin removes excess heat from its subsurface
area of responsibility and transfers it to the outer layers of the skin. This transfer can be so accurate and
detailed that occasionally thermal images can “by coincidence” resemble 3D pictures of internal anatomy. The
heat transfer is a response of the sympathetic nervous system, which unifies the messages from many of the
primary systems of the body such as the nervous system; endocrine system; lymphatic system; circulatory
system; and muscular system. The information consolidated and the message conveyed via the IR
Thermogram is truly a real time road map of a body’s current physiologic activity.

Figure 5. Eagle Image in grey scale. Eagle in rainbow palette. Raven Image in IS palette

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With color paletting, subtle skin temperature differences become visually apparent, see examples in figure 5.
They may be evaluated as to their relative temperature reading or more generally applied as they relate to the
thermographic symmetry - inherently a part of each body’s birth right. Symmetry as a condition can be altered
permanently or over time, in a biological system, through injury (physical or neurological); structural
misalignment; illness; surgery or pathology. Asymmetrical occurrences - often called anomalies may be
correlated to body locations and temperature differences with adjacent tissue areas. Here we vest in the fact
that “the blood does not lie”. Anomalies which are relatively warmer may be indicative of inflammation,
infection, injury or pathology while relative cooler areas can point to neurological damage; circulatory
deficiencies; severe inflammation or scar tissue.

Applying this then to animal and bird assessments, one need only to incorporate some additional
considerations that will enhance the validity and accuracy of the results. Outermost are the influences or fur,
hair, feathers, scales and shells. Applying heat transfer theory, some of these coverings may be exceptionally
poor conductors of heat from the skin and hence excellent insulators (shell, feathers, fur). What I have seen
so far has been areas of excellent insulation which are still capable of transferring a thermal signature
(readable) to the camera which could be relatively proportional to actual conditions they’re under, while not
being radiometrically correct. Fortunately, when an animal is injured there can be a slight disturbance or
relocation of the normal hair/fur/feather nap in the area. This exterior anomaly in turn can alter the
assessment thermography enough that attention is drawn to the area to make the secondary discovery. This
was the case at the Alaska Zoo when the caribou received their TB shots. I will suggest that every animal and
bird species might have their very own unique thermal signature, likely falling along general patterns of body
form and covering. Also in birds, consistently the largest proportions of heat emitted are from the head and
especially around the eyes, then the legs, followed by the wings to between the shoulder blades. The very
best imaging results and accurate values are achieved when the animal’s exterior is relatively free of dirt and
debris (clean) and especially when they are dry (free of moisture). Moisture tends to alter greatly the
readability of the animal’s thermal signature and it seems unlikely that the wetness is equally-distributed over
the surface at any one time. Imaging river otters in and out of a stream, they were homogenous in
temperature per the camera until patterns of dryness in their pelts developed.

Figure 6. Rehabbing eagles can be a lot of work.

Using thermography as an initial assessment tool will be valuable in research and in setting up data trends
specific to species and circumstance. I don’t suggest that it will surpass palpation, direct observation or blood
work but I do suspect we might begin to find out more than we knew before, if it is applied. In imaging injured
and uninjured wildlife alike – we are more likely to notice bruising, inflammation, infection, small puncture
wounds, broken bones, lack of circulation, head and eye injuries and breathing/nasal imbalances or even
blockages using thermography. Like any other form of imaging, thermography is a screening tool to lead us in
the right direction of closer investigation. Thermography does not diagnose – by law – that is what Doctors
do!

REHABILITATION:
Rehabilitation is an important phase of the Responders process and allows caregivers to take the time
necessary to work directly with the wildlife through care, treatments and controlled conditions, while also
monitoring specific aspects of their health for change. One of the goals of rehabilitation is also to minimize

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exposure to humans, traumatic procedures and unnatural settings. Using thermography as a tool in this
phase would and could provide for less handling of the “patient” and provide a consistent digital archive of
images monitoring the animals progressive changes, both physiological and physically. Monitoring should be
a non invasive, non biased, consistently applied and well documented. Thermal images would allow
quantitative and qualitative information to be gathered and digitally preserved for analysis at a later date.

Figure 7. Left--Oiled Penguin Center--The washing area Right--Coopers Hawk

Should washing of the wildlife be a part of the rehabilitation effort, thermal imaging can and will play a
premiere role in documenting the effectiveness and the needed follow-up to the cleaning process. Figure 7
shows examples of unwashed birds and the washing process. Because the objective of the wash is to allow
the natural restoration of the animals insulating capacity – monitoring with thermography literally documents
the amount of heat escaping and its locations. This allows for a direct treatment and/or focus on problem
areas as the feather or fur realign for maximum protection. Gathering thermal images of un-oiled, healthy
individuals of each species (eg figure 8), under treatment, would eventually allow for cross referencing
verification of progress and the eventual development of standard criteria for future releases to the wild by
species.

With some of the high end industrial and medical

cameras so portable (a pelican case and about 15
lbs), radiometric Infrared cameras can be taken to
the field or to a transient location of preferable
qualities and make scientific readings accurate to a
1/10 to 1/100th of a degree. Under imaging
protocols, a value change in even a 0.10 of a
degree is any opportunity to monitor subtle
changes over time. Monitoring is such a valuable
tool especially after the initial assessment and first
treatments are made. All too often we fail to critique
the treatments as we move forward and hence their
effectiveness is never truly known. Along with
exceptional sensitivity, most cameras have a 240 X
360 pixel focal plane array which provides digital
Figure 8. Left lateral view of Eagle Thermogram. resolution which is presentable, printable and often
very impressive. Since some cameras can store
images on location - again we have a tool that can not only capture and read infrared emissions to a 0.10 ºF
temperature but they can save them for later quantitative analysis, lab work or apply analytical program tools
with palettes in the field for immediate interpretive results.

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RECOVERY AND RELEASE:
Documentation and standards pave the way for the ultimate phase of reconciliation for the aided wildlife and
long term guests. The sooner the better for all – but we must be sure. Often we are not sure, but the timing is
right, the lease is running out, the freezer stores are low, the plane is available or the staff is exhausted. To
be sure all that has been done needs to be assimilated in that final confirmation of health, wellness, fitness
and motivation to set free that which was free. Thermal imaging can again in its non-invasive way document
the heat retention capabilities of that short-timers coat or cape. Average body temperature measurements can
be made of the animal and be compared to peers and standards; eyes, head, nostrils, feet, wings – are they
balanced in the amounts of heat emitted and there asymmetries. “Anomaly Free is the Way to Be Free” could
be our motto for the final days of recovery and release. Possibly there are anomalies and asymmetries – but
this bird came that way. We have it documented and the images are
easily referenced. Their personal thermal finger print is on our books
and we can say yea or nay to their departure to the wild.

Should medical surgery, an implanted transmitter or pathological agents

have a part of this animals stay with us - the wound, the scar or the
impacted areas can all be checked via Infrared for abnormal heat which
might be suspect of infection or irritation. Once we are sure, we can
check the battery on the transmitter if it generates heat and set them
free. The release may be sad, but the pictures and thermographs will
Figure 9. Released Eagle gives a
always be great. For they will be the building blocks of better treatments, breathtaking view of a successful
more successful releases and memories of educational proportions. treatment.

CASE HISTORY: INFRARED APPLICATION INVESTIGATION

OCEAN BEAUTY BALD EAGLES
On January 12th 2008, at the Ocean Beauty Seafood cannery in Kodiak, Alaska 50 Bald eagles (Haliaeetus
leucocephalus) were tragically and inadvertently contaminated, injured and/or completely buried in a dump
truck full of oily, slurried, fish by-products. Following an intensive rescue effort, 31 birds survived the injurious
ordeal and were air transported under the direction of the US Fish & Wildlife Service to the cooperative Bird
Treatment and Learning Center (Bird
TLC), 252 miles away in Anchorage,
figure 10. TLC Bird Care is a non-profit
wildlife rehabilitation organization
which treats approximately 1,100 birds
per year and shares urban facilities
with the oil funded Alaska Wildlife
Response Center.

Once in professional care and on the

road to recovery, the oil slurried eagles
were identified, documented,
evaluated, and treated for known
injuries. Blood tests were done to
assess the bird’s internal conditions
and tube feeding of weakened
individuals was deemed vitally
Figure 10. Ocean beauty eagles waiting for a free ride to Anchorage
necessary for re-hydration or nutritional
fortification. Stabilizing the admitted
eagles was next and equally important to their survival. The goal of stabilization is to help mitigate the
negative psychological, physical and physiological stresses endured by the birds prior to rescue and also
while in human care. Stabilization is accomplished through fluids, food/vitamins/antibiotics, radiant heat, quiet
conditions, low lighting, and minimal human contact. The process of stabilization may take several days and
during this time animals are closely monitored for health changes, behavioral indicators, mobility, appetite,
physical strength, alertness and attitude.

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Once deemed stable, the soiled individuals then proceeded to the infamous washing stations where trained
groups of volunteers and professionals alike washed them in a 105 ºF bath water mixed with 1% Dawn liquid
soap. Both the wash and the rinse cycles can each take 45-60 minutes per bird. Dirty birds are bathed
continuously until the water stays clean and floating oil sheen is not observed. Procedures such as “washing”
are done in earnest and with alignment to rigorous protocols using the current “best practice standards”
accepted both nationally and internationally to remove oil on a wide variety of species. A total of 201 different
species of birds, 9 mammals and 8 reptiles have already benefited from such oil cleansing standardizations
worldwide.

Figure 11. Providing the essentials for our Kodiak Guests

It was at this point in the oiled eagle treatment that the impromptu invitation and investigative opportunity
arose to integrate Thermal Imaging into the rehabilitation process. Aside from the new potential discoveries
we might make, it was agreed and known that my previous IR imaging volunteer work at TLC had
accumulated a sizeable collection of eagle thermograms. With these as potential baseline images of clean,
un-oiled eagles we now could start to build a conceptual comparison of how the images would support our
future interpretation of eagles’ heat loss characteristics and in turn assess how clean and in what locations
the feathers may still be oily. Two thermal imaging visits to Bird TLC took place during the rehabilitation phase
of treatment.

After setting the camera up to the appropriate internal environmental conditions of the TLC Bird Center - we
started to apply the Thermal Imaging Camera as an interpretive tool. Because it equally has the ability to
store large amounts of digital thermal imagery as well as color pictures on it memory card, we were also able
to apply it as a documentation tool – recording times, dates, emitted temperatures and the overall infrared
characteristics of each bird on that visit.

Equipment: The thermal images gathered for investigative study and reference by the attending TLC staff
were taken by a certified Level II FLIR Thermographer using a FLIR P-65 handheld radiometric Imager.
Emissivity was set at 0.98 for consistency among birds and gray scale image palette was used to optimize
focus.

INVESTIGATIVE IMAGING METHODOLOGY

Indoor thermal imaging at Bird TLC:
Lighting indoors overall was fluorescent, minimally reflective and sufficient to see. When imaging throughout
the Bird TLC facility, an escort and the director usually would accompany the Thermographer Eagle to Eagle,
cage to cage. This worked well in most all cases as one person could block cage door and hold the
informational clip board while the other person could encourage and prod the Eagle to adjust their cage
bound posture, profile and or location for the best viewing and imaging. Birds inside the cage were imaged as
individuals – 1 per cage was the norm. With proper focusing of the P-65, the cage wire could be nullified in
the image foreground, making perpendicular imaging through a closed cage door a feasible option, but less
desirable. The preferred view for evaluating the washing process and monitoring rehabilitation was a frontal,
full bird view including head and feet. During this session, a variety of poses and oblique images of the
eagles were taken in an effort to after the fact, select the preferred views for oiled bird rehab IR monitoring
protocol, examples in figure 12. We found the ease of imaging each eagle was almost directly correlated to
the demeanor, comfort and vulnerability of each particular bird. It was also noted that birds with wing or leg
injuries would tend to put the injury to the back of the cage and with great reluctance would they turn or switch

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sides enough to permit a good view f the injured area. Occasionally there would be a feisty or flighty
individual who would either try to make a break or would get so nervous about the duration of our visit that the
director would dismiss the imaging to keep the bird calm. Occasionally, a more settled or observant eagle
would take note of the metal coated reflective lens on the thermal imager and make obvious jesters and head
motions to track the device more closely- as if intrigued or watching itself in the lens. In a few situations, the
unique configuration or placement of the eagles in their cages, made imaging of the feet impossible due to a
steep imaging angle or not being able to negotiate the bird farther back into its cage for the view.

After setting the camera up to the appropriate

internal environmental conditions of the TLC bird
Center - we started to apply the Thermal Imaging
Camera as an interpretive tool. Because it
equally has the ability to store large amounts of
digital thermal imagery as well as color pictures
on it memory card, we were also able to apply it
as a documentation tool – recording times, dates,
emitted temperatures and the overall infrared
characteristics of that bird at that visit.
Figure 12. Examples of IR imaging of eagles under treatment.

Outdoor thermal imaging at Bird TLC in natural lighting:

Winter outdoor temperatures in Alaska during both Kodiak Eagle imaging sessions were cold, cold, and cold -
usually between -10 º F and +10 º F. The P-65 thermal imager seemed to operate well in this weather, with
the only exception being quicker battery consumption. Meanwhile the Thermographer had to dress for the
weather and give special attention to the uncladden fingertips required to work the controls of the IR camera.
The good thing about the outdoor work was it generally created a steeper thermal gradient between the
eagles themselves and the ambient air temperature – yielding crisper details and stronger contrasts with the
adjoining ambient backdrops. At this point the TLC escorts or director would usually let me float between the
4 or 5 mews or avian holding areas on my own (figure 13), allowing more time to think about the process and
objectives, as well as the capturing of more shots. Usually in each of the mews there would be two to as
many as 5-6 eagles co-habitating. In these situations, even though given the ID numbers of each of the birds
there in – it was nearly impossible to identify them individually as they flew, walked and roosted in a
multiplicity of places and poses during the IR session. But because these eagles had more room to move, it
was easier to reposition my self to get the optimal image angles or capture individual birds side by side for
direct comparisons. All went well imaging within the mews so long as I did not approach the eagles too
closely or move about the enclosure too quickly. In this setting, I could also get improved views of their talons,
especially if they were on peripheral perches. Occasionally, upon entering the mew – one or two individuals
would become uncomfortable with my invasion. Through obvious body gestures I knew a retreat was
necessary to minimize the raucous behavior or reduce the risk of the eagles injuring themselves. In the mews,
heat lamps were occasionally used to comfort those still not ready for the elements. Specific eagles would
then need to be monitored for “sun bathing” as the ability of the externally gathered radiant heat did and
would affect their true thermal signatures for a short duration. This was also true of those eagles who would
sit in direct sunlight within the mews, at certain times of the day.

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Figure 13. Home sweet home options for Bird TLC guests and their friends.

INVESTIGATIVE IMAGING METHODOLOGY RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVED INDOOR THERMAL IMAGING AT BIRD TLC:

1. Imaging to be done time of day when birds are most settled

2. Image ID # and take color picture prior to thermals of each animal
3. Minimize possibilities of reflective overhead lighting
4. Birds and animals must be relatively clean and thoroughly dry
5. Bandages are best to be removed if possible
6. Full crops after meals should be avoided
7. Shoot through cage bars only when mandated
8. Mirrors may be used to view body areas not easily seen or accessed
9. Establish prioritized view sequence for each species
10. Maintain a consistent 10 degree temperature spread per image
11. Capture all images in grayscale white hot paletting
12. Review and advise on image results before departing Center
13. Store images on an accessible and easily used web based data site for sharing.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVED OUTDOOR THERMAL IMAGING AT BIRD TLC:

1. Imaging to be done time of day when birds are most settled

2. Image ID # and take color picture prior to thermals of each animal
3. Birds and animals must relatively clean and dry
4. Imaging from within the mews is acceptable but imaging portals would be preferred so behavior is not
modified.
5. Capture images of animals alone and with companion animals for comparison.
6. Turn off heat lamps one hour prior to visiting/imaging
7. Full crops after meals to be avoided
8. Bring ample batteries to meet cold day field needs.
9. Imaging to be done when direct sun light does not penetrate the holding area
10. Similar statements as addressed for indoor imaging

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EXAMPLES OF COMPARATIVE THERMAL IMAGING:
Figures 14 through 17 give IR image examples of methods and techniques discussed in the body of this
manuscript.

Figure 14. Examples of Comparative Thermal Patterns and Delta Temperature Calculations

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Figure 15. Examples of Undetected Foot Injuries discovered through thermal paletting

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Figures16. Examples of Avian posing possibilities for optimal infrared imaging, information, monitoring and research.

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Figure 17. Heat Loss by location and between comparative individuals

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank the IBRRC, the OWCN and the Bird Treatment and Learning Center for their
encouragement, support and all of the great pictures shared to make this manuscript graphic and
comprehensive. And a special thanks to Gary Orlove for his patience.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Judy Reese-Deyoe is a level II FLIR Thermographer, certified Clinical Thermographer and is President of
Raven Infrared. Judy is an Environmental Thermographer and specializes in medical thermography; thermal
animal imaging; airborne wildlife surveys; wild land fire mapping; structural heat loss and environmental
documentation. Judy is the official Thermographer for the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage and frequently provides
thermal imaging for various wildlife groups in Alaska.

For additional information: raveninfrared@aol.com or (907) 262-6547

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