ConservationSloth Diaries
It’s always fun getting updates from my research team in the field these days. One person per sloth tracking them through the jungle every night. What are Ellen and Kermie up to?!? Ellen almost never comes back to the release cage anymore. She prefers being in the jungle. She spends her entire night climbing, foraging and interacting with other wild sloths. Just before dawn, usually around 3-4am she heads to one of her preferred sleeping spots (often at the top of a palm tree) and disappears into the tree…making her extremely hard or almost impossible to spot by anyone that may pass by.
Kermie has been using the cage much more…going out every night as soon as possible and then eventually coming back to go to bed. But finally this past week he spent almost an entire week outside! First he chose an ok sleeping spot in the nook of a tree about 5 meters high….I was a little concerned because it wasn’t very high and he wasn’t as well hidden as he should be. But amazingly the next day…after a night of exploration…he chose an amazing sleeping spot twice as high and completely hidden in the canopy of a water apple tree! That was definitely one of my proudest moments for Kermie. He really is learning out there. After about a week of sleeping in that spot and hanging out in that area he made his way all the way back to the cage and chose his old familiar sleeping bag for a night.
This gradual process of helping Ellen and Kermie figure out how to live in the wild…is going so well so far! None of this would be possible without our amazing supporters! Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for helping Ellen, Kermie and all the other sloths who will be next…live the life they were meant to live. In the jungle!!!
