THIS IS A GENERAL LIST. PLEASE REVIEW THE JOB APPLICATION FOR SPECIFICS.
- Be able to commit at least 3 or 6 months
- Must be 18 years or older
- Have a current tetanus vaccination
- Have a current Covid-19 vaccination
- International emergency medical insurance while interning
- Willingness to get dirty, sweaty, tired, and work for wildlife
- The ANIMAL RELATED INTERNSHIP(s) must get the rabies vaccination in order to apply.
Internships are voluntary self-funded positions. You will be responsible for all travel expenses/flights and immigration expenses.
Meals:
Meals are provided 7-days a week. We will show you the local stores where you can buy additional food to supplement your meals. Please let us know if you are vegetarian, vegan, or have special dietary requirements.
Other:
All other costs are to be paid for by the intern. This includes travel expenses, medical insurance, entertainment expenses, and a 5-day trip out of the country every three months to renew your visa. Common household items.
All internships have a 3 or 6-month requirement. If you would like to apply for a longer duration please indicate in your internship application. You must have education, training, or experience regarding the internships you apply for.
As a part of the application process, we will ask for 3-professional references.
The Toucan Rescue Ranch provides housing for international interns:
- The Headquarters Intern House: Here you will be staying with fellow interns at the Toucan Rescue Ranch. Housing includes a bedroom (private and/or shared), 2-bathrooms, common area, and kitchen. Laundry access is at the Toucan Rescue Ranch (not the house). The house is in a safe gated community with WiFi. The house is located off grounds and is a 6-minute walk to/from the Toucan Rescue Ranch. Located in San Josecito, San Isidro, Heredia.
- The Sloth House: Depending on your internship position you may be staying in the Sloth House located on TRR grounds. This is a small cabin with a shared bedroom, small common area, kitchenette, and 1-bathroom. There is laundry access and Wi-Fi. Located at Toucan Rescue Ranch Headquarters - San Josecito, San Isidro, Heredia.
- Release Site Intern House: If you are applying for a Main Release Site internship you will be located at our Release Site in a remote area in Sarapiqui, Costa Rica. Housing includes a bedroom (private and/or shared), 2-bathrooms, common area, and kitchen with some laundry access. Wi-Fi included. The house is located on TRR Release Site grounds. You will be living and working at the same location. Located in Nazareth, Sarapiqui, Heredia.
The Toucan Rescue Ranch provides 3-meals per-day for all internships. Please indicate in your application if you have any dietary restrictions or allergies so we can plan accordingly.
- Carta de interés de una página
- Currículum Vitae
- Información de contacto con tres referencias profesionales
You can Google Map these locations and familiarize yourself with where you will be located during the internship:
- Headquarters (HQ) in San Josecito, San Isidro, Heredia.
- Release Site (RS) in Nazareth, Sarapiqui, Heredia.
Internships Locations & Job Descriptions
- GREEN - Headquarters (HQ) in San Josecito, San Isidro, Heredia.
- BLUE - Release Site (RS) in Nazareth, Sarapiqui, Heredia.
- ORANGE will be a remote internship.
Professional Internships with the Toucan Rescue Ranch!
Get involved by becoming an intern at the Toucan Rescue Ranch! By applying for an internship - you are given a unique experience, gaining an in-depth understanding of our mission and the animals we serve. We have several internships requiring various skills and experience - from marketing, business administration, animal clinical work, conservation research, ecology and environment, veterinarian education, and culinary arts. We also work with various schools all over the world if you are looking for an externship or to earn credit with your university. We happily accept university students, university graduates, individuals that have been working in their respective fields, and so on. Please read thoroughly our various descriptions for a better understanding of your applied position.
Your Safety, Our Priority:
Regardless of your role, we are committed to providing a rich internship opportunity that utilizes your unique skills to help Toucan Rescue Ranch achieve its mission of rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing wildlife. Your health and safety are of utmost concern to us during your internship assignment. While working with animals, it’s important to understand and minimize the risks you take to ensure your own safety and that of the wildlife. We’ll work to provide our interns with appropriate training and protective gear throughout their stay.
We require that ALL internships have a current tetanus vaccination. You are also required to have current international medical insurance that will cover you in Costa Rica. We have insurance coverage recommendations for those being covered in Costa Rica. If you are interested, please ask in your application. You will be required to turn in document proof of your current vaccinations and insurance during orientation.
Please use the APPLICATION FORM below to apply for an internship.
Application Deadlines & Service Dates
- HQ Clinic
- HQ Sloth Rehabilitation
- HQ Animal Husbandry
- HQ Marketing
- Recruiter, Remote
- RS Clinic
- RS Animal Care
Clinic Internship at Headquarters: San Isidro, Heredia, Costa Rica
- February 6, 2023 - August 19, 2023
- APPLICATION CLOSED
- August 7, 2023 - February 26, 2024
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 9, 2023
Sloth Rehabilitation Internship(s) at Headquarters: San Isidro, Heredia, Costa Rica
- April 3, 2023 - October 14, 2023
- APPLICATION CLOSED
- May 4, 2023 - November 14, 2023
- APPLICATION CLOSED
- September 25, 2023 - April 8, 2024
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 27, 2023
- October 23, 2023 - Jan 29, 2024
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 27, 2023
Animal Husbandry at Headquarters: San Isidro, Heredia, Costa Rica
- February 28, 2023 - September 10, 2023
- APPLICATION CLOSED
- August 27, 2023 - March 10, 2024
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 29, 2023
Marketing & Communications at Headquarters: San Isidro, Heredia, Costa Rica
- August 15, 2022 - February 27, 2023
- APPLICATIONS CLOSED
- February 13, 2023 - August 28, 2023
- ACTIVELY RECRUITING
- August 14, 2023 - February 26, 2024
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 16, 2023
Service Program Recruiter
- November 28, 2022 - June 12, 2023
- ACTIVELY RECRUITING
- May 29, 2023 - December 11, 2023
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 31, 2022
- November 27, 2023 - June 10, 2024
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 1, 2023
Clinic at the Release Site: Nazareth, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica
- February 16, 2023 - May 15, 2023
- APPLICATIONS CLOSED
- May 8, 2023 - November 20, 2023
- APPLICATIONS CLOSED
- November 13, 2023 - May 27, 2024
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: April 17, 2023
Animal Care Internship(s) at the Release Site: Nazareth, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica
- December 17, 2022 - May 1, 2023
- APPLICATIONS CLOSED
- March 9, 2023 - June 5, 2023
- APPLICATIONS CLOSED
- April 10, 2023 - August 14, 2023
- APPLICATIONS CLOSED
- May 29, 2023 - October 16, 2023
- APPLICATIONS CLOSED
- August 7, 2023 - December 11, 2023
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 9, 2023
- October 9, 2023 - February 12, 2024
- APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 13, 2023
Latest Service Program News
5 ways volunteering contributes to your mental health
Posted by Zara Palmer on May 11, 2021This year, the focus of Mental Health Week is nature. Why? We believe that, especially after this year, we can all understand the reason. If we didn’t before, we now appreciate nature more than ever since the pandemic hit earlier last year.
After lockdowns, closing of businesses, curfews, and all together separation of our normal lives, many of us took to the outdoors and daily walks outside for comfort…
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Costa Rica Wildlife Rescue Internship Online
During this internship, you’ll be joining us by video call. You’ll learn about important past cases from Toucan Rescue Ranch!
Throughout the internship, your veterinarian instructors will be covering these special veterinary topics:
- Release case histories of sloths, owls, parrots, foxes, and tamanduas
- The training of each species to be ready for life in the wild
- Evaluating animals for release, with a focus on sloths and the Saving Sloths Together partnership program
- Treating sloth electrocution cases, an unfortunately common occurrence because of power lines built across the rainforest canopy
- Orthopedic surgery on wildlife
- Physiotherapy cases
- Eye medicine in wildlife
- Cell regeneration therapy
- Hand raising of baby sloths as taught by the TRR Founder Leslie Howle