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Bear Conservation Project

Placement number: 0092
Location: Ecuador
Preferred Languages: English or Spanish
Date: All Year  
Minimum Period: 1 month, though exceptions can be made

The project is part a larger conservaion organistion based in Ecuador. Our goal is to save the Andean Bear from extinction through in-field scientific studies and through the rehabilitation and release of captive bears.

We monitor both wild and rehabilitated bears, by direct observation and through the use of radio tracking equipment. Our aim is to improve human understanding of these gentle creatures by gathering data on their diet, behaviours and social interaction.

Time is running out for the Andean Bear. The tranquil cloud forests of the Andean mountain ranges, where these bears live, are rapidly disappearing. Without a better understanding of their needs there is no way to implement a strategy for their survival.

We need your help! We are currently the major organisation in the world tracking Andean Bears with radio equipment. The information we are gathering is vital to their survival. Despite this we are a small, grass-roots operation with little funding. We depend on volunteers and donations to survive. Without your support we can not continue this critical work.

Role of Volunteer

The primary work is tracking wild bears (previously captured, fitted with collars and released) using radio telemetry equipment. This involves hiking through remote forests and national parks listening for radio signals. There are a range of other tasks that vary depending on the time of year, the activity of the bears and the interests of volunteers.

Volunteer stories

Find out what our past volunteers thought of this placement!

Patrick, December 2005 - May 2006
"I feel more like an Ecuadorian than a tourist, and that's a very important distinction. The tourist sees the Ecuador (or wherever) that is intended for the tourist. Even if you do your best to get off the beaten path you will as a tourist be living in a bubble, perhaps only mental, of the country you come from. The only way to leave this personal patch of the first world is leave your home - mentally as well as physically - and be able to say with complete honesty that, if only for a while, the volunteer house was your home. Even if you only volunteer here for a few weeks, you'll begin to feel it. I keep a journal, and I recently looked back at my first few entries. I can't believe how much I've changed, and I think I like that that. Whether you return to the same dorm room or the same desk, you'll be someplace different after you leave the Project."

Various volunteers
 "I think of my volunteer experience here whenever I need to be reminded of what makes me truly happy: Having a loving family, a close community of friends & neighbours, and work that exercises the body, interests the mind, and feeds the spirit."

Cost

We ask volunteers to make a contribution to the project of US$380 for the first month and $US310 for each month after that. This covers all food and accomodation costs and includes a small donation towards the on-going maintenance of the project (we are 100% not-for-profit, all funds go to the bear work). We also accept shorter term volunteers for a minimum of one week. For this we ask for a donation of US$100 per week.

Travel

We ask volunteers to meet us at our vet clinic in Quito. The clinic is on the bus route from either the center of town or the International airport. Alternatively a cab should costs no more than US$10.

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