Wildlife conservation internships

The lush green rainforest of Costa Rica never sleeps with the world’s third largest cat – the stealthy jaguar – lurking between the foliage. These solitary beasts can also be spotted climbing up a guanacaste tree – the national tree of Costa Rica – in search of prey. 

Just a few branches up, the red-footed booby bird plucks a worm from its nest. Meanwhile, conservation interns trek safely below the green canopies, collecting valuable data that’s used by scientists to find sustainable ways to conserve and protect wildlife.

Approximately 12,155 kilometres away in South Africa, interns on wildlife research internships are measuring footprints of big cats in the bushveld and recording the data. And across the sea to Thailand, Asian elephants are being reintegrated into their natural habitat. 

GVI runs wildlife conservation internships in locations around the world, with efforts to safeguard the natural life cycle of animals like these. And you can be part of the impact by signing up for one of our wildlife internships abroad.

And, for those of you who aren’t too sure which type to choose – our enrolment staff will happily guide you through the details of each and help match you up with the perfect type of internship for you. 

How conservation internships help nature 

Conservation is more than just planting trees. It requires an educated understanding of how to interact with the environment in a way that allows us to meet our basic needs while maintaining natural resources. It’s also about protecting wildlife that depend on natural resources for survival, so that species can continue to thrive and contribute to nature’s biodiversity. 

That’s why our wildlife conservation internships aim to give participants a well-rounded experience on our programs. We couple theoretical work with fieldwork to ensure that all our participants are trained in sustainable practices and are able to put theory into action by doing fieldwork like data collection and species recording. We also offer virtual components on our career internships that allow our participants to have a more well-rounded experience collaborating with partners and fellow interns from all over the world. 

What’s the difference between conservation research internships and volunteering?

Our conservation research internships are perfect for participants who want to pursue a career in wildlife conservation and aim to use our internship opportunities to gain their first steps into the industry.

Our volunteer programs are shorter in duration, starting from one week and can go up to 12 weeks. Our internship programs are longer, starting from two weeks and can go up to 24 weeks. 

This is because our conservation research internships provide participants with in-depth industry knowledge and practical skills development. Our internships also offer a remote career mentor, who’ll take you through two free post-program mentoring sessions to enhance your career opportunities. 

All our programs aim to educate participants and other stakeholders on sustainable best practices and conservation, but our internships take this a step further and give you relevant experience to put on your resume or academic application, and to help you compete in the job market. 

Our conservation internship programs aim to refine the specific knowledge and skills that industry employers are looking for, through various developmental opportunities. Our pre-program online course in wildlife conservation offers participants the opportunity to receive a certificate endorsed by the University of Richmond. 

Participants will also receive one-on-one mentorship from a remote supervisor while on their program as well as a professional recommendation and/or LinkedIn endorsements, depending on the internship type you select. Further opportunities to develop leadership skills will be provided on in-field research projects.