Posted 15 Mar 2010

Anyone thinking of volunteering abroad might wish to draw inspiration from a woman who has left her job in London to volunteer in Peru for six months, helping out with frog research.

Lucy Cooke has been in the South American country investigating its "catastrophic amphibian extinction crisis".

This has included a trip to Patagonia to track down a rare pregnant male frog, an expedition to farms in Uruguay and licking poison dart frogs in Colombia.

She is currently based in the Peruvian jungle at the Los Amigos scientific research centre, where she is documenting the everyday lives of the amphibian creatures through film.

The diversity of the job is what provides her with motivation: "The best thing is that, unlike my life in London, no two days are ever the same in Peru."

Last month, the Peruvian government announced it was to cut air fares for people entering the country in an attempt to bolster disappointing tourism figures.

Category: South America