Location: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica
Project: Wildlife Rescue, Rehabilitation and Conservation
Duration: 4 week (min)
Cost: $350 + Accommodation and Food
Programs: Volunteer, Internship & Local
What’s included: 1 week accommodation and breakfast only at La Ceiba.
Project details: Assist with animal husbandry tasks – cleaning, enrichment, food preparation and distribution, maintaining enclosures and grounds.

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If you have the time to volunteer for a month, I highly recommend the Jaguar Rescue Centre in Costa Rica. After heading to Costa Rica twice in one year, I was determined to head back and volunteer once again. This time it would be longer and on the Caribbean side. After reading many reviews and applying directly with them I was to head back and care for sloths, monkeys, ocelots, raccoons, birds and many others.    Despite the name ‘Jaguar’ Rescue Centre, there were no jaguars, but many amazing native Central American animals I have never encountered, and would fall in love with. I had no idea that rehabilitating a Toucan would become one of my favorite activities or how sneaky a Greater Grison can be. And I’ll never underestimate the menacing behaviors of a baby squirrel or raccoon again.  The highlight for many would be taking care of the sloths, but for me it was taking the monkeys to the forest or building enrichment for them.  I loved everything about the project and even extended my stay for 2 weeks.
This program is great for those who want to work hands on with animals, and the one week you work at La Ceiba, (a more remote rescue centre located nearby that is mandatory) is great for those seeking a more natural no touch experience that I think is amazing.

 
MY OPINION:

Facility: The Jaguar Rescue Centre facility is a good size. There are many different sections that house a variety of species and the outer non caged grass and forest areas for certain animals to enjoy during the day. The centre has a good sized vet clinic and rehabilitation area, a kitchen prep area, laundry and enrichment storage. La Ceiba has massive land and rivers for the pre release animals to enjoy and it takes some time to see it all.

Tourist Trap: Yes and no. There are daily tours and sometimes busloads. Despite this, the visitors are not to go near the animals and it is very well organised. As I find the cost for this volunteer project to be very reasonable, I believe the tours are important to help fund the sanctuary.

Hands on: You will be working hands on with many of the animals, but they are not petting or selfie times. You will have to move sloths, carry monkeys, and have a variety of other animals on you. Again, these are not photo or cuddle opportunities. Despite some of the animal’s cuteness they can be very dangerous, dirty and annoying at times.

Volunteer duties: The days are somewhat long with 2 break times. The work load is best suited for someone who doesn’t mind getting dirty and with good physical strength. Feeding, animal handling, cleaning and reorganising enclosures, enrichment, laundry, dishes and site maintenance.

Enrichment: A major job each day is enrichment. Usually it is heading out of the sanctuary to collect trees, plants and flowers for the enclosures or to give as food or make toys. Another enrichment task could be just spending time with the animals observing them or keeping them company.  

Overall: Although it was more hands on then I felt it needed to be, I still really enjoyed my time and a lot of good does come from the centre in the ways of re-releasing. The sanctuary does so much for the rescued animals and is great to the volunteers. This was a very well organised program and although there were tours, they did not get in the way of the work load.
 
MORE DETAILS

Daily Duties: You start at 7am for a meeting and then given a designated area in which you will work. After a break you be assigned another task until lunch. After lunch another job will be assigned to you. There are a variety of jobs – some easy, some not, but not all are working with the animals. Animal care will go to those that have skills or that have been shown how to work with the animals. Work days usually end before 4pm.

Accommodation: There are 3 options; you can stay at the volunteer house next door for $20 a night – but you must prebook this to see if there is space. You can book through a 3rd party organization that will set you up with room, food and airport pickups. Or you can find your own house or hotel to rent. If you need a hotel before or after the project I recommend Adventure Inn or Country Inn and Suites by Radisson.
 
Transportation: You will need to make your way there and back – I used Caribe Shuttle  and found it to be a great service. The location is fairly central to many restaurants and grocery stores, but renting a bicycle is mandatory if you are not staying at the volunteer house. You might want to rent a bike to go to the large grocery store, evening outings or exploring, but there is a taxi driver that the volunteer house uses.
 
Food: If you are staying at the volunteer house you will be sharing a kitchen and need to prepare all your meals. Grocery stores and restaurants are nearby.
 
Days off: You are given 2 days off on a weekly schedule and this can vary. There is plenty to do nearby and on tours. I even hopped over to Panama for a quick getaway. Wifi can be dodgy depending on how many people are using it.

What to pack: Rain jacket, pants, long sleeves, tank top and shorts, runners or boots. Mosquito spray, flashlight and whatever else you would pack for a trip.

For more information on the project click here
https://www.jaguarrescue.foundation/en-us/SupportUs/Volunteering/4-WeekVolunteerProgram

Location: Dominical, Costa Rica
Project: Wildlife Rescue, Rehabilitation and Conservation
Duration: 1 week (min)
Cost: $600 +
Programs: Volunteer, Internship & Local
Whats included: Room and board -2 meals a day for 5 days.
Project details: Assist with animal husbandry tasks – cleaning, enrichment, food preparation and distribution, building and maintaining enclosures.

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For years I’ve heard how amazing Costa Rica is. Eco tourism, waterfalls, surfing, yoga, volcanoes etc and then you throw in the wildlife! I knew it was a destination I would love to work in. The hardest decision was where and what volunteer project to do.
Costa Rica is home to hundreds of volunteer projects – whether planting trees or protecting the rain forest, working with turtles or monkeys, butterflies or birds, children or adults; there are bountiful volunteer opportunities in Costa Rica.
So how did I decide on Alturas? I missed working with monkeys and ocelots, I only had a short holiday over Christmas and it was budget friendly.  They had a very detailed program
https://d16b0l4lltd1ns.cloudfront.net/images/AWS-Volunteer-Handbook-2018.pdf
 and Alturas did not appear as a tourist trap and had decent reviews. This sanctuary met all my criteria.  I skipped the middlemen and applied directly through their website. https://alturaswildlifesanctuary.org/volunteer
 
MY OPINION:
Facility: Alturas’ facility is quite small in comparison to other sanctuaries. You can easily walk the sanctuary in 10 minutes. They have the main area which is home to various monkey and exotic bird species, sloths, racoons, ant eaters, ocelots and an assortment of adorable Central American species. There is another section that is away from the tour area for a more quite pre prep area to monitor health and determine whether they will be re-released. And then there is the isolation pre release area. A vet clinic, animal food prep kitchen and an education centre with the staff kitchen and dining area.
Tourist Trap: No. Although they do daily tours, the main source of income is volunteers and sponsorship.
Hands on: You will be in an enclosure with some of the animals while cleaning and preparing enrichment, but the contact will be very limited. There will be times you will have to move a sloth, or shake animals off of you while cleaning, but they are definitely not cuddly selfie moments.
Volunteer duties: The days are somewhat long with plenty of break times. The work load is best suited for someone who doesn’t mind getting dirty and with an average physical strength. Food preparation, feeding, cleaning and reorganizing enclosures, enrichment, and site maintenance.
Enrichment: A huge portion of the day is spent toward enrichment. This can be from collecting palms, creating natural toys, changing the enclosure, or building new platforms. 
Overall: This was a very well organised program with a true focus on rehabilitation.  Although on the smaller side, it was not crowded with volunteers or tourists in which it gave volunteering a more personal feel. I highly recommend and feel they need the support.
 
MORE DETAILS
Daily Duties: You start at 7am and are given a designated animal area in which you will clean and deliver the food. Around 10 am you break and after that it is enrichment time until lunch at noon. Your break is for 2 hours and then more cleaning, enrichment, feeding, or a variety of work until you finish at 4pm.

Accommodation: There are 4 options, with varying prices. The volunteer house – 4 bedrooms/2 bathrooms and a kitchen.  One private apartment with a double bunkbed, a bathroom and a kitchen. The hotel on the property or you can stay nearby and get yourself to work (You will need your own vehicle).
 
Transportation: The location is fairly remote and sometimes difficult to get to due to the very steep long drive up the hill. If you do not have a vehicle, you will need to take a taxi/hired car from an airport or hotel. Be aware it is a very steep and some cars are unable to get to the top. You can call the sanctuary or hotel and they can pick you up from the bottom. The volunteer coordinator will on occasion be taking you out for dinner and group organised activities on your days off.

Food: The sanctuary will provide groceries for your own breakfast and then provide a cooked lunch and dinner 5 days a week. On the days off you can prepare your own meals or be taken out as a group. The hotel also has a delicious restaurant.
 
Days off: As it is remote, unless you have a vehicle it is difficult to get around. There will be outings or you can just relax and enjoy nature. Wifi works well here.

What to pack: Rain jacket, pants, tank top and shorts, closed toe shoes or runners. Mosquito spray, flashlight and whatever else you would pack for a trip.

For more information on the project click here
Link: https://alturaswildlifesanctuary.org/volunteer