REHABILITATION OF NATIVE REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS IN DUPAGE COUNTY, ILLINOIS

Between 1980 and 1994, 586 individuals of 20 native reptile and amphib ian species were evaluated at a wildlife rehabilitation facility in Du Page County, Illinois (USA). On examination, 48% of reptiles and 52% o f amphibians were injured, and 2% of each class were diseased; remaini ng animals were uninjured. The most frequent causes of injury to repti les were automobile collisions (55%), ingestion of fishing tackle (19% ), and domestic animal attacks (8%). Automobile collisions (38%), lawn and garden accidents (33%), and pet collection (19%) were the most fr equent causes of injury to amphibians. We released 354 reptiles and 54 amphibians into appropriate habitat available in local forest preserv es, representing case release prevalences of 84% and 68% for each clas s, respectively.