Take Care of Parrots

If you have always wanted to work with exotic animals in breathtaking nature, this wildlife conservation project in Costa Rica offers you the opportunity to turn your dream into action. The beautiful macaws are a parrot species that is threatened with extinction. In this volunteer prograrm in Costa Rica, you can volunteer for local conservation.

The main causes of the acute threat of macaws are the continued destruction of their habitat (for example, slash-and-burn, colonization) and, on the other hand, the sad illegal bird trade. Unfortunately, parrots are still very popular pets today, making the poaching of the macaws a lucrative business. In addition to these two main reasons, there are a number of other reasons such as the hunting and persecution as crop pests, the entry of other species into the habitat, the endangerment of breeding grounds and nesting trees.

This Macaw Sanctuary in Costa Rica was founded back in 1994 with the aim of protecting wild parrots. Most of these animals were hunted by people, persecuted and expelled from their environment. In addition to the parrots, there are also jaguars, monkeys, turtles or ocelots that live in the nature reserve of the center. The center works hand in hand with the National Nature Conservation Agency (SINAC), national fire protection and national volunteers, who feel strongly attached to nature and animal welfare.

The center takes care of the recovery of injured animals and their rehabilitation. In the best case, the macaws can be reintroduced, but unfortunately this is often not possible because they would immediately be victims of humans or other species again. Many of the parrots live forever in the center where they can at least live in safety, if not in freedom. The Parrot Center also performs important tasks in environmental education. It is open to visitors and they are informed in detail about the macaws and their endangerment.

Your Tasks
One of the key objectives of the center is the well-being of the wildlife. Together with volunteers, the permanent employees take care every day to improve the living conditions of the animals. To achieve this goal, the help of the volunteers is necessary, because the few permanent employees are not enough for the many work. Most of the time, the volunteers help to prepare the food for the animals, clean up the cages and enclosures, and also maintain the paths through the center. This wildlife sanctuary in Costa Rica is like a green oasis and has several acres of reforested rainforest. Since then, the area has served as a sanctuary for many other species of birds, including ocelots, monkeys, sloths and other mammals, as well as reptiles.

Volunteers help to look after the day visitors of the center and guide them through the facility. This is a very important task to raise awareness of the environment and animal rights. Such a large facility also requires a lot of work and needs to be maintained on a regular basis. In addition, artisans skilled volunteers can also help with repair and construction work.

The different work areas are divided according to urgency and weather conditions. The employees assign the volunteers to their duties. The volunteers are also cared for by the staff and they provide you with the necessary know-how.

For all volunteers, a compulsory introductory tour will take place at the beginning of the volunteer work in order to provide the newcomers with important information on rules of conduct for their own safety and those of the animals.