~ Volunteer with mammal researchers in the Peruvian Amazon. This position provides a rare opportunity to work alongside and learn from expert tropical biologists, conservationists, and park-rangers by closely assisting them with monitoring Neotropical mammal populations at multiple locations across the 85,300.54 km2 Madre de Dios (Mother of God) Region – a fascinating, dynamic, and wildlife-rich region of the Peruvian Amazon. Based out of the jungle city of Puerto Maldonado, Fauna Forever-Tambopata Volunteers live and work with wildlife monitoring teams on our flagship research and conservation initiative, the Fauna Forever Tambopata (FFT) project. Join us today. Become a Fauna Forever Tambopata volunteer and help us to understand and conserve this unique Amazon wilderness area.

The FFT mammal team is responsible for undertaking line-transect surveys in the early morning, afternoon, and occasionally at night, and for maintaining a series of footprint traps and remote camera traps which are sensitive to the heat and motion of animals, as well as recording the presence and absence of more habitat-specific species in areas not directly sampled by these methods.

Mammal Team Highlights:

• Walk approx. 7 km of trail systems and transects slowly each day, starting the first session at 5:30 am, to check for mammals and take down data of sightings
• Occasionally walk trails and transects at night to census nocturnal mammals
• Create and check mammal footprint traps daily
• Maintain existing trails and on occasions open new ones
• Set up heat- and motion-sensing camera traps and download images every few days
• Enter data of the above research into the project computers

Already have experience with mammal research/monitoring? Need to do a thesis or personalised research project? No problem. Fauna Forever can provide you with some mammal research project ideas or even help support you with logistics, permits and mentoring for your own idea. For more information, please contact us.

*What the fee includes

• Accomodation for 13, 20 or 42 nights respectively
• Three substantial and healthy meals for 14, 21 or 43 days respectively
• Clean drinking water at all times throughout the phase
• Airport transfers on arrival and departure at Puerto Maldonado (PEM) airport
• Boat transport between town and research sites
• Training: Health & Safety in the rainforest; scientific monitoring and research techniques in one or more of the project’s taxonomic groups; species identification; impacts affecting the rainforest in Tambopata, and possible solutions; orientation (compass, GPS and map use); machete use; and much more.

What the fee does not include

• Travel insurance (this is essential)
• Flights
• Spending money for snacks, sodas, alcaholic beverages and souvenirs