2 toed sloths Archives - The Sloth Institute

Sloths ENdangered or IN Danger?

Sam Trull — Sun, 06 Nov 2016 20:14:35 +0000

In addition, underlying diseases and abilities to adjust to an ever changing world go un-detected without targeted research initiatives. There are active steps we can take towards creating a safer, healthier and happier future for wild sloths in Costa Rica. But first we need to learn, what makes a healthy sloth? What factors affect the health of individual sloths and sloth populations? In order to truly tackle these questions, we recently completed the build of Monster’s WiSH (Wild Sloth Health) lab.

A question I get asked often is “Are sloths endangered?”. While the sloths of Costa Rica may not be categorized as ENdangered, they are still very much IN danger. Every day critical habitat is destroyed and sloths are injured by human encroachment. They can’t run across roads, jump through gaps in the forest or fend off dogs. In addition, underlying diseases and abilities to adjust to an ever changing world go un-detected without targeted research initiatives. There are active steps we can take towards creating a safer, healthier and happier future for wild sloths in Costa Rica. But first we need to learn, what makes a healthy sloth? What factors affect the health of individual sloths and sloth populations? In order to truly tackle these questions, we recently completed the build of Monster’s WiSH (Wild Sloth Health) lab.

As a part of our research, we take various samples from the wild sloths that we are tracking so that we can monitor different health parameters to get an overall picture of the quality of life of certain sloth individuals and ultimately populations of sloths. Everything from weight, body measurements, feces, blood, hair, photos and more can be collected non-invasively to help us paint a clearer picture about baseline sloth health and what factors affect that baseline. With this lab space, we will be able to collect comprehensive knowledge about common sloth diseases in wild populations. We aim to not only investigate the baseline health of ‘normal’ sloth populations, but also correlate this information with habitat quality so that we can make recommendations on how to better develop human encroached areas to improve the health and quality of life for wild sloth populations in Costa Rica before it is too late. This lab is an instrumental part of our ever growing WiSH program providing our team a perfect environment to work, collect, store and analyze samples. In addition, this lab is a space where we can invite visiting researchers to collaborate on important conservation research that will save sloth lives.

We are so grateful to our incredible community of supporters that made Monster’s WiSH lab a dream come true to help us avoid sloths becoming endangered. We look forward to sharing our educational journey as we work every day to save the sloths that we all love.

– By Sam Trull

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Make a Difference, TSI’s Elementary School Sloth Challenge kickoff begins!

Sam Trull — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 02:10:29 +0000

Jane Goodall says, “What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make”. Teachers of the world make a difference each and every day by inspiring our young. One of our three missions at The Sloth Institute Costa Rica is Education; through education we hope to assure the well-being of sloths not only here in Costa Rica but on this planet. And by helping the sloth, we help preserve trees and the forest; for without a tree or the forest, not only would sloths become endangered but so will many other species of animals.

We are thrilled to have so many teachers signed up to participate in our 2016 Elementary School Sloth Challenge when we celebrate International Sloth Day the entire month of October. Inspired by Ms. Yang’s 1st grade class at West Point Elementary, The Sloth Institute through the many teachers who have signed up to participate, hopes to help inspire and educate young children about wildlife conservation. By educating our young about the importance of conservation of wildlife and the forests, we help ensure that our planet will be preserved in the future. Help us celebrate by sharing this with all the teachers you know. Teachers who have signed up will be receiving Sloth/Wildlife Information (Sloth Facts, How to be a Responsible Sloth Tourist, Why Taking Sloth Selfies is not a Good Idea and Why it’s Important not to Support the Pet Trade) throughout the month to share with their classrooms. You can still sign up as late as 5pm PST on October 3rd.

Here is the schedule for the month:

Week 1 Lesson:
Sloth Facts; Activity: Sloth Coloring Page or an activity of the teachers choosing

Week 2 Lesson:
Being a Responsible Sloth/Wildlife Tourist; Activity: The Pledge (stay tuned for more information on The Pledge!)

Week 3 Lesson:
Why Taking Sloth (or any other wildlife) Selfies is not a Good Idea; Activity: Discuss ideas on how to enjoy the wildlife without disturbing them

Week 4 Lesson:
Why the Pet Trade is So Bad; Activity: Come up with an anti-pet trade slogan and drawing (this can be submitted for a chance to win a 15 minute Skype session with Sam).

Thank you for your support and for teaching our young ones. And don’t forget, make a difference! #slothlove

Illustration by Autumn Ashley

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We WiSH for a Better World for Sloths!

Sam Trull — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 02:11:50 +0000

Here at The Sloth Institute, we work tirelessly every day to make positive differences in the lives of the sloths of Costa Rica. From helping orphaned and injured sloths get a second chance at a life back in the wild, to conducting in-depth scientific studies that teach us things like what sloths eat, how they navigate a complex environment, and what diseases they most frequently acquire. To help us accomplish these goals we are building a Wild Sloth Health (WiSH) lab where we can efficiently collect and analyze samples and evaluate the many hours of behavioral data that we collect every day.

The WiSH lab is not only needed to complete our investigations but it also represents our hopes, dreams and wishes for the sloths that we work with every day. We WISH for a world where all sloths can be happy, healthy and free. But without your help we can’t make this happen, so now we want to know: What do you WISH for sloths?

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Elementary School Sloth Challenge 2016

Sam Trull — Mon, 05 Sep 2016 12:04:48 +0000

CALLING ON ALL YOU AMAZING TEACHERS/ADMINISTRATORS/COUNSELORS!

A fun and interactive way to inspire kindness to animals and the environment

The Sloth Institute (TSI) is excited to announce our celebration of International Sloth month this October with our 2nd annual Elementary School Sloth Challenge. Last year’s campaign was quite special and the teachers who participated expressed that it was a very special experience for the kids.

Throughout the month of October there were weekly lessons and activities that taught students all about sloths, meanwhile inspiring kindness to animals and the environment.

Lessons included:

Sloth Facts
How to be a Responsible Sloth Tourist
Why it’s Important Not to Support the Pet Trade

We will share some fun ideas for an activity (such as a sloth coloring page which we will provide) and a few other fun things! Students are then encouraged to come up with an anti-pet trade campaign to submit by October 31st. The winning campaign will receive a 15 minute Skype call with the Co-Founder and Sloth Director of TSI, as well as author of Slothlove, Sam Trull, featuring some special appearances by our sloths!

Here is what Ms. Yang, the teacher of last year’s winning class, had to say about the experience:

“Today was such an amazing and educational experience! My students were so happy, they said it was the best day of their lives!”

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Ellen and Kermie: Update from the field

Sam Trull — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 04:07:34 +0000

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!!!

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Natures Miracle Sloth, Monster’s story continues….by Sam Trull

Sam Trull — Sun, 14 Feb 2016 17:36:24 +0000

After watching the latest episode of “Nature’s Miracle Orphans” on the BBC, you may be wondering “Where is Monster, natures miracle sloth now?”

I am so proud to tell you that Monster is in the process of being released! She is living inside of a large (6x6x6 Meter) soft release cage with her friend Piper. She has been living in this release cage for the past few months getting acclimated to the weather, smells, sounds and food that she will be eating once free. Next week she will be fitted with her very own VHF tracking collar which will ensure that my Sloth Institute research assistants will be able to find her any time of day or night.

Research staff spend hours every single day collecting wild leaves for Monster and Piper to eat so that they know what to eat once outside and free. In about a month the door to her release cage will be opened so she is free to come and go as she pleases. She will be monitored 24/7 by my research staff who will be recording her behaviors, postures, height in canopy, tree species, size of tree etc. Simultaneously we are also monitoring wild three toed sloths at the release site around Monster’s age…so we have comparison data to know if Monster is behaving and eating like a wild three toed sloth….or if she has room for improvement! The wild data is crucial to be able to evaluate Monster’s progress through the process of her soft release.

Her release is considered “soft” because she is gradually getting used to the wild environment while we are still providing food and shelter if she needs it. This allows her to more naturally find her way around her new forest home while she learns where to find food and shelter…something her mother would have taught her had she not been orphaned. Luckily, having been born in the wild, she is still equipped with many natural instincts which will aid her in finding food and shelter and also staying invisible to predators. But if she needs help…we will be there for her!

This entire release project is not only for Monster…we also have her friend Piper (another three toed sloth) and two two-toed sloths (Ellen and Kermie) who are pioneering our long term post-release monitoring project with hand-raised sloth orphans. Eventually these methods will be used to help all of the other orphaned sloths reintegrate back into the wild as well as sloths at other rescue centers around the country. Long term monitoring is essential in determining not only the success of the release but also to learn more about the natural ecology of sloths in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica and the problems they face because of habitat destruction and ultimately how we can prevent sloth babies from being orphaned in the future. The Sloth Institute was originally created to facilitate this dream release program and has now expanded into wild studies and educational programs to help teach the future generation how to save the forests for all wildlife, but especially sloths.

On a more personal note I am SO proud of Monster, natures amazing miracle sloth. She went from a tiny insecure 2 week old miracle orphan who cried herself to sleep, to a confident, 2 year old young sloth who loves nothing more than being high in the trees and searching for leaves to eat. She is gorgeous and she doesn’t need me anymore….which is one of the most bittersweet feelings….I miss the times we spent together in the nursery…but I am so grateful that she has made it this far and finally has that second chance to live a wild life that she so deserves. My dream for the past 2 years has been to see her released into the rainforest canopy. Now that her release is actually happening…my newest dream is to see her with her own baby one day…at that point I think I can actually exhale…knowing that my miracle baby girl has finally made it back home.

#slothlove #borntobewild

By Sam Trull

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