Quito Zoo | Volunteer Global

Quito Zoo

Introduction

Quito Zoo is a project of non-profit Fundación Zoológica del Ecuador (Zoological Foundation of Ecuador) and has a strong focus on education and conservation. Quito Zoo has bred the endangered Andean Condor in captivity and is active in conservation projects in Ecuador to save the condor and the mountain tapir.

Types of Projects

Quito Zoo offers a range of volunteer opportunities. There are chances for biology students/graduates to help on a condor conservation program, internships for qualified vets, opportunities for unskilled volunteers to help around the zoo, office-based placements in marketing, volunteer opportunities for photographers and more.

Locations

Quito Zoo is just outside the town of Guyllabamba, about an hour north of Ecuador's capital, Quito, and is a haven of tranquility, full of flowers, butterflies and hummingbirds, and a beautiful place to work. The condor conservation project is at a beautiful hacienda (colonial farm) in the village of Zuleta, in the province of Imbabura, about 1/2 hour from the city of Ibarra.

Timeline

Volunteer opportunities range from a few days (for photographers), up to 6 months (for vet interns). Most general volunteer positions are for 2 to 12 weeks.

Accommodations

Volunteers based at Quito Zoo have the choice of staying in a private room in a hostel, or in shared cabañas at a family home close to the zoo.

Volunteers on the Condor Conservation Project stay in a shared volunteer house in the beautiful grounds of a colonial hacienda (working farm).

Prerequisites

Volunteers must be 18 years of age or more. Spanish language skills are useful but not essential for all volunteer positions. See invididual volunteer opportunity information packs for more details.

Costs

The volunteer contribution required varies for each position (see individual information packs) but includes accommodation, food, training and supervision, as detailed in the information packs.