5 reasons to apply for the world’s ‘best summer internship’

Animal cruelty is a prevalent issue that we are becoming more and more aware of. With creatures being poached for recreational and agricultural purposes, proper care and rescue has been established by the Olive Ridley Project, a UK-based organisation that opts to fight ghost nets and protect turtles in the marines.

And guess what? Here’s your chance to save them as well! Here are reasons why you should consider entering a fantastic internship competition run by the project:

The internship lasts for two weeks – in the MALDIVES!

The two-week long internship will happen in August at the Olive Ridley Project Marine Turtle Rescue Centre at Coco Palm Dhuni Kolhu. The Marine Turtle Rescue Centre is the first and only rescue centre in the Maldives to be led by a veterinarian and is fully-equipped with surgical and diagnostic facilities for the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of marine turtles. The internship will take place over two weeks in August 2019 with a negotiable start date subject to Coco Collection’s discretion.

You will be mentored by one of the leading specialist turtle veterinary surgeons in the UK

One lucky intern will be able to work under Dr. Claire Petros, who also happens to be the lead veterinarian at the Olive Ridley Project. The 30-year-old from London studied Biology for her Bachelor’s at Oxford University and graduated veterinary medicine for her Master’s at University of Bristol. Dr. Petros tries to rescue as many turtles as she can and rehabilitates them. Many of these turtles are victims of abandoned fish nets, where, in most cases, they are spotted entangled in twine.

Dr. Petros has been on the job here since 2016, where she has gained the nickname “Turtle Woman” in some parts in the Maldives.

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Update on Taloola. Taloola came in with ghost gear entanglement wounds. She needed a front flipper amputation that healed nicely. The past couple of weeks she stopped using her front flipper. She was showing signs of shoulder joint disease in the way she was holding it against her body. We xrayed her flipper and initially everything looked normal. However we knew there was a problem that we needed to find so we played around with the angle of the xray to get different views of the shoulder joint. By tilting her and getting some oblique xray views we could then see the disease in her shoulder joint, called osteomyelitis. Unfortunately a very common complication after ghost gear entanglement. We then ultrasounded her joint and took a sample of joint fluid for analysis. This included looking under the microscope and we are now growing the bacteria to test which antibiotic is best to treat taloola. We are now better able to work up cases due to more equipment thanks to kind donations from the public. If you would like to support us so we can continue to grow and better help turtles then please visit our website and donate. Www.oliveridleyproject.org #seaturtle #veterinary #medicine #surgery #maldives #vetmed #conservation #vetlife #wildlifevet #wildliferehab @coco_resorts @pacsafeofficial @oceanpositive_fourthelement @oceancare_icare @paditv @sea_life_trust

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Daily duties fully immerse you in the life of the turtles

The Olive Ridley Project has reported that between 2011 and 2018, more than 600 turtles have been entangled in the Maldives, where 87% of these are Olive Ridleys (a turtle species). Dr. Petros and her team continues to exert all efforts to save and care for them, and you’ll get the chance to be one of them!

These responsibilities include feeding the turtles, cleaning holding tanks, observing surgeries and medical procedures, attending rescue missions, assisting in releasing rehabilitated turtles back into the ocean and more.

You will be living in paradise, expenses paid*

The lucky intern will be able to live in a beautiful guest villa as well as having full board benefits at Cowrie restaurant. The internship is unpaid, but the resort and organisation will take care of the following things for you: accommodation, flight ticket, boat transfer, activities and more.

Additionally, the lucky intern will be able to kick back for a bit, with opportunities such as experiencing the Sunset Cruise, a Balinese treatment, a beach barbecue and a guided group snorkelling trip in Baa Atoll, also in the Maldives. It’s an experience of a life time!

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Would you like to volunteer with us at our rescue centre in Maldives? Tag a friend you would take with you! We take volunteers for 2, 3 or 4 weeks at a time. Once in a lifetime experience of working with sea turtles, learning about their care and veterinary treatment on a beautiful island in Maldives. You don't need any experience to volunteer and we take volunteers from every background. Volunteers are a huge help to us at our centre to help care for our turtle patients. Here are our volunteers Alex and Caroline helping out with turtle spa treatments – cleaning algae off to keep their skin in good condition. Our most recent volunteers experienced first aid of new turtle arrivals, veterinary diagnostics, surgeries and even a turtle being released back to the wild. In your spare time enjoy what Maldives has to offer like swimming with Manta Rays or simply enjoying the beautiful sunsets. For more information take a look at our website Www.oliveridleyproject.org #seaturtle #volunteering #volunteerabroad #conservation #marinelife #maldives #travel #oceanlove @coco_resorts @pacsafeofficial @oceanpositive_fourthelement @oceancare_icare @paditv @sea_life_trust

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Interested applicants do not need marine-life related experience prior

However, you must be 18 years old and above and keen to work in a related field. The mechanics are easy – just submit a 2-3 minute video and a 500-word cover letter explaining why you’d be a good fit for the role. This is open to all nationalities.

Further information:

https://cococollection.com/en/coco/competition
(For questions, email them to inturtleship@cococollection.com)

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