Wildlife Rehabilitation Volunteering

Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand

During the summer of 2014, I knew that I wanted to travel to a country I had never been to before, but wanted to do something more impactful with my time. After my internship at the Pittsburgh Zoo, through some serendipitous searching, I discovered a B-Corp certified service called Animal Experience International. They place volunteers in responsibly and ethically run animal hospitals, rescues, sanctuaries and government programs around the world. Working with them gave me peace of mind that the experience I would have would be beneficial to both me as well as the organization and local community I'd be working with.

I went to Thailand for about 3 weeks to volunteer at Wildlife Friends Foundation, an animal sanctuary nestled in the jungles of Phetchaburi. They strive to rehabilitate, release when possible, and educate the public on the importance of wildlife conservation. Their founders have also been critical in lobbying for better animal protection legislation in the Thai government.

At the sanctuary, I spent two weeks working with the rescued wildlife in the jungles and then another week with the rescued elephants. Many of the elephants were rescued from the horrors of the tourist industry, such as elephant trekking and performance. During this time, I helped to feed, clean, and provide enrichment activities for animals like gibbons, langurs, otters, bears, a cassowary, a binturong, and more. While there, I also became friends with other volunteers from all over the world with a range of different backgrounds but all brought together by this shared passion. This was my first experience with this kind of vacation abroad and it opened my eyes to all the future possibilities in "voluntourism." I loved being able to travel to a different country and experience the natural beauty and culture there while feeling like I was making a difference in the lives of these animals.

A rescued asian elephant looks out from its enclosure. Many of the elephants were either given to the center by or outright bought from their mahouts. Since the closing of elephant-powered logging in the country, many elephant owners turned to tourism for income. Common practices such as elephant treks are incredibly detrimental to the elephants’ health, as many elephants we saw had nearly permanently broken backs.

Some animals at the center were abandoned exotic pets — a cassowary, far from its native Australia, was taken in after being imported by a rich owner. Not knowing how to handle the bird, someone had crushed its delicate casque (keratin-made crest on the head), giving the bird severe brain damage.

Two elephants go at it during a tense first introduction. The years of hardship are evident with the elephants’ tattered and frayed ears.

Baby langur monkeys required additional enrichments, like sunflower seeds stuck into corn cobs, to stimulate their growing minds.

A baby gibbon observes her mother drinking from their water pail. One of our daily tasks was refilling water regularly, a challenge indeed with some gibbons who loved to dump out the buckets for fun.

A gibbon gives the reminder that it, along with all the other animals in the center, are wild animals and are incredibly strong and potentially dangerous.

Bandit, a macaque monkey, was born without several limbs and digits but was still the head honcho of her enclosure. Macaques are often seen as pests in many parts of Thailand where they’ve learned to adapt and take advantage of urban development.

ARCAS Guatemala

Encouraged by my experience volunteering abroad in Thailand, I volunteered at another sanctuary to help rehabilitate wildlife and promote conservation, this time in Guatemala. During my winter holiday in 2014, I worked at ARCAS, a non-profit NGO dedicated to protecting Guatemalan wildlife. During my time there, I cared for dozens of macaws and other birds, spider and howler monkeys, and learned about the greatest threats to the local species. Due to their beautiful plumage, many tropical birds are cruelly captured and sold into the illegal pet trade, fueled by demand from countries like the US. This industry not only quickly depletes their numbers in the wild and endangers the population, but also has huge impacts on the local ecosystems.

Thankfully, organizations like ARCAS work everyday to rescue, rehabilitate, and release animals seized from illegal poachers. Individuals that are unable to be released serve as animal ambassadors for their species, educating local and international audiences that come to the center. I feel immensely grateful for my experiences there and all that I learned from the incredibly dedicated volunteers and staff. Although conservation work is often grueling, frustrating, and grossly underfunded, I was very much inspired by their unrelenting passion and drive, despite the immense odds.

Food prep area where volunteers prepared meals for all the center’s animals every day.

Entrance to the volunteer houses where volunteers from all over the world came to help with daily maintenance projects and animal husbandry tasks.

A spider monkey being rehabilitated at the center looks out from its enclosure. Many of the animals we received were found orphaned or injured, mostly due to human activities.

A black-bellied whistling duck that was much beloved amongst the volunteers and staff for its salty disposition.

The center always had several large enclosures of rescued macaws. Macaws are extremely popular in the pet trade and are often illegally captured and harmed. While taking care of them, we had to adopt hostile tactics, such as making jarring loud noises, so that they would not associate humans with kindness and food.

A group of tropical birds being rehabilitated. Many are exploited for their colorful plumage and are popular in the pet trade, endangering their populations in the wild.

A couple of kinkajous huddled in the corner.