Wildlife Veterinarian

Position: Wildlife Veterinarian Location: Peru and Costa Rica Status: Full-time

This role will be employed under Osa Conservation’s Movement Ecology Program. Broadly, the project aims to develop and use novel animal tracking technology to increase our understanding of the movement ecology of scavenger networks, and the predators which drive them, in south and central America. It involves the capture and deployment of tracking equipment on Cathartidae vultures and large cat species, taking biological samples and implementing a variety of different surveys to estimate the density and determine the ecological roles of scavenging communities.

Job Summary

Osa Conservation’s Movement Ecology Program Wildlife Vet will play a key role in the field team to coordinate and execute the capturing of keystone species including vultures, tapirs, white-lipped peccaries and wildcats in both Peru and Costa Rica to deploy GPS devices, and collect biological samples in order to obtain ecological and biological information. This includes the creation, deployment and maintenance of different trapping methods for the species, the sourcing, maintenance and handling of the drugs required for the captures, the handling of biological samples working in collaboration with laboratories and the managing of data from the captures and biological samples. The Wildlife vet will also execute general project and program tasks, in the field and online, such as camera trap monitoring and permit and report writing. The Wildlife Vet will spend 50% of their time in Peru and 50% of their time in Costa Rica. When based in each of these countries you will be living in remote field stations with basic living conditions as part of a small, close-knit field team. Applicants should be comfortable living and working in remote tropical environments (field stations and forest camps in Costa Rica and Peru). This project will involve long hours in the field and will be physically demanding and requires someone with field work experience and someone who enjoys being in the forest, working to execute research to contribute to science and conservation. This role requires a passionate and motivated individual to work in remote tropical field locations for long periods of time to lead the veterinary and biological component of this movement ecology program for wildlife health and conservation implications.

Roles and responsibilities

Animal Captures and Biological Sampling:

• Execute animal captures for Osa Conservation’s movement ecology program and rewilding projects in Costa Rica and Peru, this can include vultures, wildcats, harpy eagles, giant anteaters, white-lipped peccaries and Tapirs.
• Ensure captures follow the study design instructed by the Chief Scientist.
• Design and create easy-to-use data collection sheets to ensure captures run smoothly and all the correct information is collected appropriately.
• Train the field crew in capture protocols, data collection during captions and good practices of handling wild animals.
• Ensure animal and team welfare and safety during captures by following protocols.
• Lead the sourcing and managing all vet equipment and medicine at both field sites.
• Communicate and coordinate collaborations with the labs which process biological samples.
• Execute the collecting, processing, storing and distribution of biological samples.
• Manage capture and animal databases, storing them in the correct google drive folders.
• Collaborate with field crew to execute radio-tracking to assess health of collared animals and collect additional behavioral and ecological information.
• Coordinate and execute re-captures of collared/tagged animals if health is at risk or collar/tag is malfunctioning.

General Movement Ecology Program Activities:

• Provide technical information for the writing and reporting of permits in Costa Rica and Peru.

• Provide updates and media to the Principle Investigator for grant reports.
• Document and promote the experience of the lead Wildlife Vet on the movement ecology project via 3 posts a month on social media.
• Provide weekly reports to the Field Project Manager and Lead Vet to update progress on responsible tasks every Friday by 1pm.
• Create and manage vet team work plans in project management and tracking software Asana.
• Participate in bi-weekly team meetings (remote and in person) to update the team on the progress of the tasks you are responsible for and communicate and finalize field work plans.
• Execute general program tasks and logistics as required.

Skill Requirements

• Vet license to operate in Peru and Costa Rica.
• A manual driving license – B1 to be able to travel when needed across the Osa region on a variety of roads.
• Fluent in Spanish (written and oral) with basic conversational English.
• Knowledge and experience in capturing wild animals in remote locations. This should include a good ecological and behavioral understanding of wild species in tropical rainforests.
• Knowledge and experience in collecting and processing biological samples.
• Good physical condition and experience working long hours in the field in difficult environments and tropical rainforests.
• Ability to work as part of a diverse field team in remote locations for long-periods of time.
• Confident in use of google applications, gmail, google drive and google calendar.
• A strategic mind with the determination and ability to generate solutions to problems under pressure.
• Hard working, interpersonal skills, team player, motivated leader and passionate individual.
• Field work experience and someone who enjoys being in the forest, working to research and conserve it.