Wildlife Rehabilitation Volunteer/Intern Costa Rica
Description
We are the oldest and largest wildlife rescue center in Latin America. We are a registered non-profit founded in 1989 and located on 34 acres of natural forest in the province of Alajuela, Costa Rica. Our mission is to protect and restore Costa Rica's biodiversity through wildlife rehabilitation, endangered species breeding, habitat preservation, and the provision of lifetime care for non-releasable animals.
There are three main centers at Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center's facility in Alajuela, a state-of-the-art Wildlife Rescue Center and veterinary clinic, an Endangered Species Breeding Center and a Lifetime Care Animal Sanctuary consisting of 35 acres of lush tropical forest with more than 125 species of animals. Over 3,000 wild animals are admitted to Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center on an annual basis, including sloths, jaguars, tapirs, pumas, coyotes, and monkeys, as well as a wide variety of birds, small mammals, and reptiles. Roughly 800 of the birds, mammals, and reptiles that have been rescued cannot be released due to health or behavioral reasons. Non-releasable endangered species are maintained in the Endangered Species Breeding Center, where they have an opportunity to contribute to the survival of their species through successful breeding and release of offspring. Non-releasable wildlife of more common species are provided with lifetime sanctuary in the Lifetime Care Animal Sanctuary.
Interning and volunteering with Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center is a life-changing opportunity to work with wild animals in Costa Rica and experience all of these aspects during their stay at Rescate. Some activities volunteers are involved in include but are not limited to:
- Clicker training animals in the sanctuary
- Assist the caregivers in the Wildlife Rehabilitation facility
- Observe animal behavior and collect data in the Endangered Species Breeding Center
- Learn to recognize and collect wild foods for the animals
- Participate in weekly lecture series on wildlife rehabilitation topics
- Design and implement Animal Enrichment
- Prepare animal diets.
Details
Organisation:
Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center
Location:
La Garita
Qualifications/Skills:
No skills are required to participate in our Wildlife Rehabilitation Volunteer and Internship program, just a strong interest in wildlife and animal welfare and a desire to help us return Costa Rica's wildlife to the wild where they belong.
Dates of program:
Year round
Duration of program:
1 week minimum
Age requirement:
Adults of both sexes 18+
Cost:
Prices vary from US$500 per week to as low as US$375.50 per week including accommodation, meals and airport transfer, depending on length of stay.
Other information:
Our volunteer program and wildlife internship is an excellent way to gain useful skills that will help you gain employment in the animal care/wildlife field. Unlike other programs where volunteers and interns are just feeding and cleaning, our program is designed to help you gain valuable skills in animal behavior monitoring, data entry and analysis and environmental enrichment that you can include in your cv or resume. Interns who participate in our program for a month or longer have an opportunity to visit our release site and help us liberate animals back into to the wild and will also receive a certificate of completion. If you have any questions or are interested in our program, please contact us.
Reviews
There are no reviews to display
Apply now
Members only content - Register or LoginWeb links / Other ways to help
If you visit and apply via the website please mention that you saw this project on volunteerlatinamerica.com.