Be part of the NATUWAS's team assisting in feeding the animals, animal enrichment, cleaning enclosures, maintenance of the sanctuary, and guiding tours for visitors.
Jaguar Conservation Volunteer
Help preserve beautiful national parks in Costa Rica, protect local wildlife, and educate day visitors. Experience breathtaking nature and Costa Rican PURA VIDA!
By volunteering at our refuge you will have a once in a life time opportunity to work with our various big cats including jaguars, ocelots, monkeys, parrots.
Research the animals of Costa Rica to learn more about their lives and ultimately, how to protect them.
Help us care for and return wild animals to the wild and gain valuable animal care experience in a lush tropical setting with all the comforts of home.
Work on critical conservation efforts focused on Jaguars and Sea Turtles within the Cahuita National park.
Ambue Ari is a Wildlife Sanctuary that cares for over 70 animals, of more than 20 different species, specialising in the care of large felines.
Support the permanent employees at the local zoo in the Peruvian Central Andes with various daily tasks like taking care of animals.
Get up-close to exotic animals! Help nurse rescued animals back to health. The animals at the rescue center have been confiscated from illegal poacher and traffickers.
Protect our wildlife! Support this jungle sanctuary by preparing food for the animals, cleaning cages, and assisting with general maintenance.
Center for wildlife conservation with jaguar but as well animals in help like monkeys or birds
Travel to the Cahuita National park in Costa Rica and work on projects aimed at identifying reptile and amphibian species.
Help take care of exotic animals that have been rescued and assist with environmental education! Experience the Costa Rican rainforest!
Deforestation and animal trafficking in Costa Rica has rendered wildlife more vulnerable than ever. You can com help local nature regenerate and integrate back to nature.
Discover the wild and wonderful world of conservation in the Costa Rican rainforest in the Cahuita National Park.
Rescue place and wildlife refuge, where the volunteer can support and develop specific projects.
Join us on a wildlife expedition to find jaguars and other wildlife in the Guyanese & Brazilian Amazon rainforest and the worlds largest wetland: The Pantanal!
Our refuge for wild animals receives sick and injured wild animals often victims of poaching or deforestation in Guatemala. Help us protect them and look after them.
El Sira Communal Reserve is home to at least 300 bird species, 124 mammals and 140 reptiles identified to date, although the real numbers are believed to be higher.
Enjoy a magical place among the fauna and flora of Tortuguero. Meet, learn and investigate everything to maintain and conserve the environment.

Volunteer work with Jaguars
The jaguar is known as one of the largest and most powerful wild cats of them all. Nevertheless, this unfortunately does not mean that jaguars are not endangered. Quite the opposite is the case, which is why many jaguar conservation programs are working hard to prevent this species from becoming extinct altogether. As such, your help as a jaguar conservation volunteer is very much needed. Opportunities for volunteering exist in Central and South America in particular. If you would like to learn more about why you are needed as a jaguar conservation volunteer abroad, please read on. We are going to tell you about some of the threats that jaguars face as well as what this voluntary work is going to entail.
Why are jaguars in danger of becoming extinct?
Like most wild animals, jaguars face a series of threats. Just consider the situation in the US and Mexico, for example. A once flourishing jaguar population has almost completely been wiped out in these regions. It is believed that a mere 70 to 100 jaguars still live in Sonora, Mexico. Why is that? The problem that jaguars are facing in those regions is one of habitat loss. Areas, which were once key to jaguar survival, are increasingly being used for the following purposes instead:
- Farms
- Mines
- Roads
- Towns
- Ranches
- Other kinds of residential buildings
- Border infrastructure
In turn, jaguars are losing their natural habitats, which is why the remaining jaguar populations in Central and South America must be saved by any means. However, habitat loss is not the only devastating news to jaguar conservation activists. Instead, unregulated poaching and hunting continue to be an issue, too. Given the unique spots on a jaguar’s coat, jaguars are very attractive to hunters who consider these stunning wild animals their personal trophies. Moreover, global warming, climate change and habitat loss due to deforestation further contribute to the decline in the jaguar population in both South and Central America.
Which countries are still home to jaguars?
As a prospective jaguar conservation volunteer, you deserve an answer to this question. After all, this is where your voluntary work will likely take you. Depending on which program you choose, you might find yourself volunteering in jaguar conservation in any one of these countries:
While El Salvador and Uruguay also used to be home to substantive jaguar populations, this sadly no longer is the case. In fact, all jaguar conservation efforts were not able to save the jaguar population in these regions, wherefore there are no longer any wild jaguars to be found there.
Different approaches to protect jaguars
As a jaguar conservation volunteer abroad, what you will be doing will depend on the approach that your program is taking. Since there are many different approaches to jaguar conservation, part of your job might be educating the public or monitoring the local jaguar population. In many of the above mentioned countries, ecotourism and educating local ranch owners in particular are two of the most important pillars of any jaguar conservation work. Moreover, you might also be asked to participate in various research activities. This is important since researchers first need to determine where the remaining jaguar populations live so that they can focus their jaguar conservation efforts on the respective areas. In some of these jaguar hotspots, you might even find a protected reserve. Hence, this will likely mean that setting up camera traps to track the local jaguar population will be part of your job description. However, your local contact at your jaguar conservation program can tell you exactly what you will be doing as a future volunteer.