Think Wild offers wildlife rehabilitation, education and habitat internship opportunities

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Think Wild, Central Oregon’s wildlife rehabilitation, education, and conservation center, is offering several internships this year for applicants interested in learning about wildlife conservation in Central Oregon.

There are three different internships being offered: a Beaver Habitat Internship, Wildlife Education Internship, and nine Wildlife Rehabilitation Internships.

Think Wild’s Beaver Works Oregon program is recruiting 1-2 Beaver Habitat Interns in Spring 2024. The intern will assist the Beaver Works Program Manager with efforts pertaining to beaver-related education, outreach, and beaver habitat project planning and execution.

The intern will learn about writing scientific outreach materials, supporting beaver site assessments and planting preparation, researching best practices for riparian restoration methodology, monitoring remote trail camera footage, organizing citizen science events, contributing to wildlife coexistence strategies, and more.

Think Wild is hosting a Wildlife Education Internship for the summer of 2024. The intern will support Think Wild programs pertaining to wildlife education and outreach. This includes supporting educational programs with local school groups, assisting and leading Think Wild’s Wild Wonders Summer Camps, attending and tabling at local community events, creating relevant social media posts, and designing, planning, and implementing educational curriculum.

This will be the third year that Think Wild has offered their Wildlife Rehabilitation Internships, which have been very successful and rewarding experiences in past years. There will be three internship sessions of three internships each offered in the spring and summer of 2024.

Wildlife Rehabilitation Interns will assist Think Wild staff with medical exams, procedures, diet preparation, enclosure building and outfitting, and other tasks within the wildlife hospital, which treats up to 1,000 injured and orphaned wildlife per year. Interns gain valuable experience and knowledge about wildlife anatomy and physiology, life history, diet, medical treatments and procedures, and more.

Interns across all program areas will receive a stipend upon completion of their internship. To help compensate the Wildlife Rehabilitation Interns, Think Wild has partnered with Bend Animal Emergency and Specialty Center, who is generously sponsoring this program.

According to Dr. Adam Stone, co-owner and medical director at Bend Animal Emergency, "BAE is proud to help sponsor the Think Wild internship program. Think Wild's commitment to education, conservation, and wildlife management made this decision easy for us. Central Oregon is incredibly lucky to have these skilled wildlife educators and rehabilitators play such an active role in our community."

Think Wild Interns report learning valuable skills over the course of their internships that prepare them for the workforce.

Many Think Wild interns have continued in the field of wildlife education, conservation, and rehabilitation, including at Think Wild! Savanna Scheiner, current Wildlife Technician at Think Wild, began as a volunteer at the wildlife hospital, then completed the Wildlife Rehabilitation Internship, and is now a full-time staff member.

She says that she “learned a vast array of knowledge about how wildlife rehabilitation works, and I now have a permanent position at Think Wild as a wildlife technician, and I'm super excited to get to call this my job!”

Applicants interested in these internship opportunities can learn more about the positions and how to apply on Think Wild’s website.

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About Think Wild

Think Wild is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization located in Bend, Oregon. Our mission is to inspire the High Desert community to care for and protect native wildlife through rescue and rehabilitation, outreach and education, and conservation. We provide veterinary treatment and care at the wildlife hospital, staffed by expert wildlife rehabilitation staff, animal husbandry volunteers, and our staff veterinarian. Wildlife conflicts or injuries can be reported to our Wildlife Hotline at (541) 241-8680, which is monitored seven days a week from 9 AM to 3 PM. Visit us online at thinkwildco.org, or on Instagram or Facebook @thinkwildco.