As a volunteer, you will be helping at the Ancón Animal Shelter, a refuge for animals that need to recover from poaching or other human actions. Many of these animals are endangered, and really need the help given at the Shelter to be able to go back to nature and perpetuate their species. The Shelter also has many rare and important plant species, many of which have great medicinal, ornamental, or nutritional value. Many of these plants are also endangered native Panamanian plants and also plants that have lived for centuries, which makes this an extremely important area for both local flora and fauna. The center consists of a botanical garden where these plants are found, a wildlife refuge where animals are helped, and also places that can be visited by families, friends, and nature lovers that want to meet and help the species at the center.
Some of the animals that can be found at the center are jaguars, ocelots, cougars, red foxes , harpy eagles, white-tailed deer, peccaries, raccoons, macaws, great white egrets, tapirs, anteaters, black cats, white-faced capuchins, marmosets, spider monkeys, night monkeys, howler monkeys, american crocodiles, iguanas, ducks, and parrots.
As a volunteer, there are four areas in which you can directly contribute. The involvement of the volunteer in each of these areas will depend on their skills and knowledge.
1. Environmental education:
The main focus of this area is spreading awareness about preserving nature and reducing risks to local flora and fauna like poaching or habitat destruction.
Some of the tasks volunteers may expect to perform are:
- Management of visitors
- Giving workshops to local communities about recycling and preserving nature
- Giving educational workshops at local schools and public centres.
- Create and teach didactic activities to children so that they can learn more about flora and fauna.
2.Fauna:
This area consists of directly caring for the animals in their many needs:
Some of the tasks volunteers may expect to perform are:
- Preparing and distributing food to all animals
- Cleaning the enclosures of the animals
- Checking on the animals regularly
- Supporting at the veterinary clinic, by assisting the professionals that work there.
3. Flora:
Activities within this area go around taking care of the plant life at the park, which is extremely important to the overall functioning of the Shelter.
Some of the tasks that volunteers may expect to perform are:
- Planting new trees
- Identifying pests and helping get rid of them
- Identifying plant species
- Watering the park
- Sanitary pruning
- Moving species from germinators to bags
- Fertilising
4. Maintenance:
Here are all the activities related to keeping the shelter and its grounds in good shape.
Inorganic maintenance requires volunteers to do things like:
- Collecting inorganic waste
- Cleaning concrete poles and ditches
- Scrubbing garbage tanks
Organic maintenance requires volunteers to do things like:
- Collecting organic waste and disposing of it
- Collecting leaves and putting them at the base of the trees
- Cleaning paths and trails
- Eliminating invasive plants