Manatee Rehabilitation Careership - Belize

The tiny Central American country of Belize punches well above its weight in terms of wildlife. Just offshore a large population of West Indian manatees make their home in the warm coastal waters, a habitat that forms an important part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. These gentle herbivorous creatures live their entire lives (up to 50-60 years) in the water and have no natural predators, yet are all too often injured or orphaned by irresponsible fishing and boating accidents. This project gives you the opportunity to rescue and rehabilitate manatees while educating local populations about the animals' threatened existence. It also gives you the chance to get to know the diverse Belize culture, where English is the official language but Spanish, Creole, and an assortment of other languages are also widely spoken.

You will work with a Manatee Rehabilitation Centre (the only one in the Region) founded in 1998 to care for orphaned or injured manatees found in Belizean waters. It was here that Belize's first rehabilitation of an orphaned manatee took place, and 'Woody' was successfully released back into the wild after 2 years or more of care. Volunteers played a critical role in Woody's rehabilitation, and that of all his successors, helping provide the 24-hour intensive care in the early days, and then sharing the duties of feeding and pool cleaning as he grew. With the assistance of grants from donor agencies the Centre's facilities have been upgraded significantly. Three concrete pools and a lagoon enclosure provide the space and housing options to suit the needs of manatee calves at various ages. The Centre generally has one or two manatees in care at any one time, but with increasing boat accidents, numbers needing such care are unfortunately likely to increase. You can help nurse these impressive creatures back into the wild while helping raise awareness in the Belizean community.

Work is shared among volunteers, and involves all aspects of manatee care. This includes food preparation of the milk replacement formula, bottle-feeding in the water, clean-up, support during transfer between pools, regular weighing, medical check-ups, etc, . Carers also spend time working with the calf, providing companionship in the water in the early developmental stage, and monitoring behaviour. Other essential activities include emptying, cleaning, filling and maintenance of the pools to ensure a clean environment for the calf or calves.

As the manatee grows older, it is led out into the open lagoon to be taught how to find and eat seagrass and learn the many other skills needed for life back in the wild. As these skills are acquired, and care becomes more hands-off in the approach to release, there are also public awareness activities that you can get involved with, increasing interest and knowledge among locals towards support for conservation of this threatened species. This includes visits to schools in the idyllic local fishing community, one of the stakeholder communities of Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, established by the Government of Belize for the protection of the West Indian Manatee.

You may also asked to help respond to calf strandings, should they occur elsewhere in Belize whilst you are stationed with the Rehabilitation Centre - which may involve helping release calves accidentally caught in fish-traps, or capture of injured or orphaned calves in need of rehabilitation.

You will be given easy to follow instructions on how to get from Belize City International Airport, to the project HQ. You will be met at the bus station, port or local airstrip by the project coordinator.

Accommodation is basic, with shared thatched, screened cabanas (sorry - no air conditioning or fans!), with adjoining bathrooms. However, there is generally a breeze coming off the lagoon and temperatures are lower than further inland. Food preparation and consumption are both social occasions with everyone contributing towards cooking and washing up. Both vegetarians and non-vegetarians are welcome.

• Min age 18
• Minimum 1 month commitment - 30+ hours a week.
• Enthusiasm and interest to work in with Manatees and their conservation
• Basic English
• Full travel & medical insurance
• Necessary vaccinations
• Necessary flights & visas

Fee:

 $500 USD Project Fee per month + £249 GBP Placement Fee
 

What's Included:

Project Fee includes all food, accommodation, 24 hour support, project activities and transport from the local town to the project HQ.

We charge a flat, one-off Placement Fee of £249 GBP per person per project. This covers our costs for promoting the project and providing our services. We offer full pre-departure support (for all necessary flights, visas and vaccinations) and ongoing assistance throughout your placement.
 

What's not included:

Flights, insurance, visas (if applicable) and vaccinations. Full assistance will be provided in getting all these sorted.

"I just completed my internship at the Manatee Rehabilitation Center in Belize! It was an amazing experience that I will never forget; working with manatees has been my dream for a long time! Thank you Global Nomadic for finding me this placement. "

- Jordan Smith - June 2011