The Seabird Care and Conservation internship has been developed to track the life cycle of seabirds and will focus on equipping you with hands on skills to work with seabirds in every stage, from egg hatching to release.  After completion you will be well prepared for a career in bird care and conservation. This internship will see you work in both the Main centre as well as the Chick Rearing Unit (CRU) where you will have a more varied seabird experience.

What will I learn?

This learning experience is divided into 2 sections.

Online e-learning course – completed prior to the first day

This course is desgined to provide you with a sound knowledge base to work at SANCCOB. The course content is developed to provide you with a working knowledge of different types of penguins and seabirds of various ages, types of enclosures they live in, what does daily care entail, handling and feeding techniques, and as well as seabird behaviour and signs of illness and disease. You will also learn the basic differences between working at the Main centre vs. CRU. Scenarios, case studies, instructional videos and photos will provide the basis for self assessment quizzes that encourage understanding and application of knowledge.

SANCCOB – Practical skills development

You will have the opportunity to apply your knowledge and practice those skills that you have been introduced to. You will learn intermediate seabird care techniques for juvenile and adult seabirds and will learn highly specialised skills on how to handle, feed and care for primarily African penguin chicks, gulls and cormorants.  You will also learn about the incubation process and assist with egg management.

Who can apply?

Returning volunteers who meet application requirements, university students, graduates, post graduates, employees and volunteers in the fields of conservation, husbandary, animal care and welfare, animal behavior, zoology, biology or any other animal science related fields.

Read what others have said about this programme.

Programme duration

6 months

If you want to make the best of your time, then why not consider one of our training courses?

Please note that dissertation projects/other under or graduate research projects can be completed as part of this 6 month internship. Click here for more information.

Work schedule

The nature of the work that you will be doing may see your schedule change on very short notice so flexibility is highly appreciated. You will need to have the ability to stay focused and self motivated, be compassionate and flexible, highly observant and be aware that the CRU environment is quiet by nature and you will often work on your own. 

When working with juvenile and adult seabirds at the main centre, a typical work day is from 8am-5:30pm but when working in the Chick Rearing Unit (CRU), you will be required to work shifts.

CRU shift times are mostly from  05h30-14h30 & 13h30-21h30 but during times where there's an increase in bird numbers or a lack of capacity, shifts may change to a 12 hour shift (6am-6pm).

8 hours shift rotation schedule will operate 5 days a week and will include weekends and public holidays.

12 hours shift rotation schedule will operate  on a long week (Mon, Tues, Fri, Sat, Sun), short week (Wed, Thurs) system.

What about accommodation?

Unfortunately SANCCOB doesn’t offer accommodation but potential interns can This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for a list of places of accommodation that many interns and volunteers have made use of in the past.

Programme cost

How to apply?

Click here to download the application form