Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary Volunteer Program
- Costa Rica
About Program
Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of injured, sick and orphaned wildlife here in Costa Rica. Our ultimate objective is to assist in the recovery and release of native wildlife. We also provide lifetime care to those that cannot return to the wild. We have a well-equipped veterinary clinic and employ a qualified and experienced veterinary team to provide high quality veterinary treatment to all animals.
Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary accepts volunteers from all over the world, who can commit to a minimum stay of 1 week and a maximum of 3 months. As a volunteer you will have the opportunity to work closely with animals that most people only dream of! You can help with food preparation, cleaning and feeding, providing environmental enrichment, clinical procedures, pre-release monitoring, behavior observation, record keeping, marketing, fundraising, maintenance and so much more!
Video and Photos
Program Highlights
- You will meet lots of like-minded, new people and have opportunities to explore the local area, walk in pristine wilderness and experience genuine Costa Rican culture.
Response from Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary
Hello,
thank you for your comments. We appreciate all comments from the volunteers and try to use them to improve our program. As you were aware our volunteer coordinator suffered a serious accident, breaking to vertebrates in her back, just prior to your arrival. This caused some issues as we needed to try and fill that gap. Unfortunately our new coordinator did not arrive during your visit which did cause some problems during your stay. It was also the busiest time of the season for volunteers and we had more volunteers than normal. We have now implemented a strict policy of limiting the volunteers to a maximum of 8. We have also implemented a new activity schedule that has improved the experience greatly and all current volunteers are very happy with the results. As I recall you were given the option to move into different accommodations or stay in the room you currently had. I believe you choose to move on you own and was never forced to move.
As far as the Sanctuary habitats they are the largest and most comprehensive in Central America. Please look at the other sanctuaries and compare ours. We do have quarantine areas, nursery and rescue enclosures that are for those animals that will be released soon, need to stay in quarantine or have injuries that requires small areas so that they cannot injure themselves further. All funds and donations go 100% to the care and attention to the animals. We have a paid staff of 11 people, including 3 veterinarians and a biologist with a full functioning clinic where all medical procedures can be performed. The land and all the initial construction of the sanctuary and rescue center was donated by the owner so that all future donation can help the monthly operating expense and the expansion of more open habitats.
We would ask that any problems or issues be brought immediately to management so they can be addressed at the time the issue arises.
Thank you again for your comments and we appreciate your help while you were at the sanctuary.
Tom Rademacher