Volunteer South America

gafferino

Hi Folks

Am going to South America in a few months with a few friends and we are looking to do some wildlife volunteering along the way. Has anyone got any experience of this in South America - would love to hear how they get on and where they did it?

Cheers

Neamhshuntasach

I worked with animals in Ecuador and Bolivia.

The one in Ecuador was not far from a place called Tena near the Amazon basin. Here's the website with all the info about it. http://www.selvaviva.ec/selvaviva/index.php?l=en
I liked it and had a great time. It is long hours though and if you are prone to insect bites it may not be for you. There are a lot of mosquitoes and sand flies. Thankfully i don't get bitten by mossies but the sand flies are a bítch. For this one you need to organize it in advance. All the info should be on the site.

I also done it in Rurrenabaque in Bolivia but that was a good few years back. Think the place was called Torewa or something. You needed a decent level of Spanish to work there. As a lot of them do. Most of the local employees won't speak English. But there are plenty of options where it is not a necessity.

Have a look here:

http://www.volunteersouthamerica.net/

Flynn

http://www.intiwarayassi.org

Can't describe how good this was...
Going to work at 6am with a baby monkey on your head.
Walking a jaguar through the jungle on a leash tied around your body
Getting dragged through the jungle by a puma who's spotted something in the bush... and then going for a swim with her...
I could go on and on... one the best things i've ever done...

Stay for a minimum of one month to work with cats.... more if you can...
Good luck!

Flynn

Ambue ari is where i volunteered.. i'm more into cats and the fact that there is no electricity for 45km just drew me in... its also more family like you eat all your meals at the camp where as in Machia you go out for your fod and can o to restaurants etc... also more volunteers there
The choice is yours!

gafferino

yeah ive heard of this place and I really like the look of it.
What are the health risks associated with it? was at the TMB last week and am getting all the shots including rabies. The doc said if i got scratched you would still need to go the hospital to get another shot to be sure??

dory

Yea, well the rabies shot doesn't protect you from rabies anyway, just gives you more time to get to the hospital. So if any animal attacts you, you should get it checked out.

gafferino

yeah but the animals here go through quarantine and are vaccinated so was wondering if you still needed to go the hospital - i mean its pretty much guaranteed with animals your gonna get scratched.

dory

I'm sure you could ask some people on your first day, but yea, I'm guessing as they're kept there that it's safe.

Neamhshuntasach

The animals that have been in a sanctuary for a period of time would have been vaccinated and wouldn't carry rabies. But it is the new ones that are brought in and have yet to be cleared of the disease. So a lot of them recommend you have it. Some even want to see proof. Especially the more remote ones.

Flynn

I didn't have the rabies shot...but yeah all the animals are quarantined. You'll most likely be leaving with scars and will get scratched daily (the bastard claw is non-retractable - so when a cat jumps up to say hello you may get scratched then) but no you won't have to go to hospital. They have a wee clinic there and one of the vets will fix you up