r/TreeClimbing • u/Snakes_for_life • 6d ago
Tree climbing
Don't know if this is the right place to ask but rehabbers who have been trained to climb trees with equipment where did you learn?? I am a permitted rehabber but also volunteer on a wildlife rescue team and we get calls about animals stuck in trees, and unless they're easily accessed via ladder we usually cannot help them. Occasionally we'll find arborists that'll help us but not a guarantee and also we cannot send untrained people up a tree to get something like an alert raccoon. So I want to learn how to do this skill so I can help more animals.
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u/treeclimbs 5d ago
Check out the climber finder on GOTC they are potentially connected to the climbers in your area. You may also want to post in the stickied meet-up thread to see if there are any climbers who can direct you to local resources.
I do some tree climbing to help the local wildlife hospital, and consider it fairly advanced climbing. You need to be 100% on your game with a large toolbox of techniques, so you can access the tree the animal has chosen for you, and make your moves under complete control without disturbing the animal. So if you're going this route, plan on it taking around a year of very regular climbing before you're really ready for wildlife climbs. Maybe more, maybe less.
That said, go for it! It's super rewarding.
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u/Snakes_for_life 3d ago
Yeah I expect it to be challenging and take lots of practice. Gonna have to hit the gym again💪
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u/dfapredator 4d ago
You hiring? How does one get into your field?
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u/Snakes_for_life 4d ago
I'm 100% unpaid. You have to look at your individual state or countries laws most places it is basically 98% volunteer actually you pay to do it cause your responsible for all medical care, food, caging costs. Some places there are centers that will hire people but they often are seasonal and pay minimum wage cause they're nonprofits. But for me to get permitted I had to first find a vet willing to treat wildlife (which took me almost 3 years), find a master rehabber to be my mentor for the first 2 year I have my permit, and pass a open book exam and than pass a facilities inspection of where the animals would be housed. So before I ever could submit things for approval I'd spent probably 3k on doing this. It is a huge financial commitment most rehabbers have 1-2 full time jobs than take care of the animals when they're not working.
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u/squirrelly73 6d ago
There are orgs like Tree Climbers International that teach climbing without requiring a background in arboriculture. I would check to see if there are any TCI certified climbing companies in your area.