“The Cute Curse”: If you love sloths, here’s why you should say NO to holding one
This is a special contribution by TSI Sloth Director/Co-founder, Sam Trull, who travelled to...
7 Ways to Be a
Responsible Sloth Tourist:
Say NO to sloth selfies:
Save the selfies for the plush toys
Never pay to touch, feed or take a photo with a sloth (or any wild animal). Sloths are wild animals and can bite or scratch you and transmit diseases. In addition, it is very stressful for them to be touched by strange humans. They just want to live their lives in peace.
Learn about the Costa Rica-wide #StopAnimalSelfies Campaign that The Sloth Insitute is a partner of.
Whisper
Stay Quiet
Sloths are very stressed by loud noises. Please keep your voices low when around them and try not to make loud or sudden movements. This includes music and noises from machinery!
No Flash Photography
No Flash, Please
Bright lights, and especially at night, can be blinding to sloths. Please only take photos without flash.
No Loitering
Keep Your Distance, Thanks!
Once you've had a good view of the sloth and shown your friends and family, keep moving along so the sloth can move along as well. If you are too close to them you are going to stress them out and prevent them from continuing whatever they were doing before you arrived. When sloths are stressed they freeze like statues.
No Smoke, No Spray, No Pesticides
Do not spray bug spray or smoke when near a sloth
Pesticides, bug sprays and smoke pollute the air and sloths have very sensitive lungs. If you must use bug spray. Walk away from where the sloth is residing so that they don't breathe in the toxic fumes.
Eco-Friendly Businesses
Support Eco-friendly and local businesses
Sloths NEED trees, clean water, and a healthy connected forest to survive. Anything you do to protect the planet helps to protect sloths.
Drive Safely
Drive SLOW and carefully
Sloths sometimes crossroads to get to the other side..they are no match for your vehicle and need time to get across. Stop traffic and keep people away from the sloth so they can cross the road safely.
Sloths are #NotAPet
Keep Sloths WILD, not caged
Say NO to supporting the pet trade of sloths and not sharing videos of pet sloths on social media.