OBS: Projektet tilbydes i samarbejde med organisationen GVI og nedenfor kan du læse deres beskrivelse af programmet:
Live and work in the heart of Costa Rica’s Tortuguero National Park, whilst assisting the reserve management, the Costa Rican government, and organisations like Coastal Jaguar Conservation and Panthera with contributing toward jaguar research and conservation.
Along with GVI staff and other participants from all over the world, you will will set up and monitor cameras set along the Tortuguero coastline and in the forest, and note any tracks on the beach, to note jaguar abundance in the area. Depending on partner needs, you might also monitor camera images to build an ID of jaguars in the region and collect data for genetic research.
Part of our project involves assisting authorities and researchers with observing an incredibly unique jaguar behaviour on Tortuguero beach. During turtle nesting season, the area is one of the only in the world where jaguars are known to prey on adult nesting sea turtles.
Even though jaguar research will form the main part of your program, you will also have the opportunity to participate in sea turtle and bird research as well as conducting biodiversity surveys of the forest, noting mammal, bird, amphibian, and reptile species.
Through training and hands on practical experience you will learn learn technical skills that could assist you in pursuing a future career in conservation, or soft skills like intercultural team communication that will assist you in any other vocational path you might choose.
Due to the fact you will work in a national park, you will need special scientific permit to approve you for conducting research. Further permits are required for turtle and jaguar research. The permit for turtle research takes about one month to process, while the permit for conducting jaguar research takes about 2 to 3 months to process.
- Jaguar feeding behavior and population studies; surveys will include a weekly 15 mile walk on the beach to monitor the levels of marine turtle predation. There is more activity during Turtle nesting season (March-October), but the program runs all year
- They use camera traps to identify individual jaguars present in the Jalova area and their feeding behaviors in relation to marine turtles – we have also helped publish a research paper on the Jaguars.
- We are also collecting Jaguar scats (faeces) for feeding and genetic studies.
- Volunteers will also take part in some of the other surveys carried out on base; this is dependent on the time of the year; but may include marine turtle, canal/shore bird, spider monkey or amphibian monitoring, or general biodiversity/incidental sighting surveys, but will have priority in the Jaguar surveys
HER kan du læse mere om ansøgningsprocessen, din interkulturelle forberedelse, hvilke kompetencer du får, rejsebreve fra vores deltagere, aktuelle tilbud, hvordan du mixer dit eget program og meget mere.
