Top Reasons To Choose Wildlife Conservation Volunteering Projects

Everyone’s time is precious.  We have limited time in which we can do things that truly matter to us.  We have causes that we feel are of vital importance and to which we want to dedicate our resources.  The culmination of our desire to help those that cannot help themselves can be volunteering in wildlife conservation; either in the preservation of animals or at rescue centers.

There are many reasons we should volunteering for the benefit of the animals; here are five of them.

1. Travel to exciting locations

Volunteering with animals can be incorporated with fabulous destinations.  From marine conservation off the Mediterranean coast to the wildlife and rescue center in the lush lands of Costa Rica, volunteering to work with animals can have you explore more of a country’s beauty than traditional tourist visits.  You will be able to enjoy nature from a different viewpoint than the traditional rush of vacations that may take you quickly from one place to the next.

2. Make a difference

– From the Javan Tiger of Indonesia in 1994 to the Yangtze River Dolphin of China in 2006 and the Pyrenean Ibex of Spain in 2006 animals have continued to become extinct throughout the world.  Many of the animals become extinct because of the spread of civilization into their habitats.  Humans affect their habitat to a degree in which these animals are no longer able to survive. In other instances, the animals were hunted to the point of extinction.  These animals were seen as a threat to their livestock and/or to themselves and were therefore eliminated. Animals need our help in their survival.  Different species continue to be placed on the Extinct or the Endangered lists.  If we don’t act, many more will be added. We can longer say there is nothing we can do about it.

Fact: We have lost 97% of wild Tigers in the last century (www.wwf.org)

3. Get close and personal with animals

How else would we have the opportunity to ride, wash and feed an elephant?  There are programs working with elephants in Surin, and Chiang Mai, Thailand and in Sri Lanka. Other programs include working with large game in South Africa, with manatees in Peru, or with rescued primates, bears, and exotic birds in Vietnam.

Fact: Thailand has many festivals that revolve around elephants

4. Work with like-minded people

You will meet others that are as passionate as you are about working with animals.  It can be hard at times to express to others the value you have for animal life and their protection.  Working closely with the staff and other volunteers you are sure to make friends from around the world that share your dedication and commitment to the preservation of wildlife.

5. Get hands-on experience working with animals

If you are considering making working with animals a career, you can see first-hand what it is like.  Reading about the work that is done in an animal rescue center and getting your hands dirty with the day-to-day activities are not the same. See if your enthusiasm for animals could be become a career.

To work towards the conservation of wildlife should gain utmost priority as the balance between nature and modernization is dwindling. Awareness and mobilizing people towards working in wildlife conservation is one way to save the precious wildlife. What can be some other ways to do so ? What do you think can be done ?