Category: Volunteering

Spring Internship 2026

Before applying, please view “Working at a wildlife rehabilitation center: things you should know.“

Red Creek internships focus on education and training for those interested in careers related to wildlife rehabilitation, environmental education, and other wildlife management sectors.

Applications close January 15th, 2025
The application is available at the bottom of the page

Any college student or person pursuing continued education in fields related to wildlife rehabilitation and/or management can apply for the Spring Internship position, which runs from March through Mid-May each year.

Start and end dates are flexible. Students must commit to a weekly schedule that can vary from 4 to 6 hours per day,
1 to 2 days per week. We will do our best to work with your schedule and supply the number of internship hours you need.

A spring internship is a volunteer internship. It is unpaid and does not include travel or accommodations. What it does offer is an intense hands-on experience with rehabilitating wildlife.

Because “baby season” begins around April, expect the majority of hours in April and May.

Learning Opportunities:

  • Knowledge of the missions of Red Creek Wildlife Center, Inc. and how our missions fit in with the larger picture of wildlife conservation and protection of public health.
  • Some knowledge of the regulations and laws associated with wildlife rehabilitation.
  • Exposure to the operations of a wildlife rehabilitation center.
  • Learn how to properly care for rehabilitation animals.
  • How to deal with the public during stressful wildlife situations
  • How to feed baby wild animals
  • How to restrain birds of prey for treatment and exams
  • How to administer fluids to birds and mammals
  • How to complete a physical exam
  • Interns will also be exposed to learning about various diseases, nutritional information, and treatment protocols.

Responsibilities

Interns will be responsible for:

  • Cleaning enclosures and caging, which may include wiping down, sweeping, and scrubbing these enclosures.
  • Feeding and watering animals
  • Cleaning of the clinic and treatment areas.
  • Washing and disinfecting food and water bowls and caging.
  • Assisting staff with medical treatment and examinations of animals.
  • Identify potential health issues in animals and report these to staff.
  • Assist with intakes of new rehabilitation patients from the public, including inputting information into a database.
  • Assist with the handling and enrichment of the education and foster animals.
  • Any additional chores needed to maintain animals and facilities
Spring Internship (#15)

References

References must be school or employment related. Family members listed as references will not be accepted.

This is a 13 week program. What are your approximate available dates?

The goal of wildlife rehabilitation is to release the animals back into the wild. Because of this, it is imperative that the animals remain wild and do not become habituated to people, including staff. Wildlife rehabilitation is a hands-off type of animal work and a professional distance must be maintained at all times.

Working in animal care at Red Creek Wildlife Center requires bending, kneeling and carrying buckets of water up to 30 pounds. Cages are cleaned and disinfected with simple green cleaner, dawn dishwashing liquid, bleach and nolvasan.

Red Creek accepts all species of Pennsylvania wildlife except bear and adult deer. This includes animals often thought of as undesirable such as starlings, snakes, skunks, raccoons and coyotes.

Many animals presented for rehabilitation are carnivores. This means there will be dead animals that will be fed to carnivores. Red Creek has freezers of frozen mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs and baby chickens that are used for food. Most of these are thawed and fed whole, but occasionally it is necessary to process them prior to feeding (sectioning with scissors or skinning).

Red Creek receives over 4,000 animals each year. Many of these animals come to us suffering severe injuries or illness. Some might not reach a level of health needed for release. These animals cannot be warehoused and the rehabilitator on duty may make the decision to euthanize the animal.

Please note: Volunteers and interns will never be asked to euthanize an animal.