sloth costa rica 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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The Value of a Tree and a Sloth named Milena

Sam Trull — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 16:03:21 +0000

When I was an elementary school child, I used to plant acorns. One by one I would dig out little tiny holes in the ground, drop in the acorn, cover them up and keep them watered. I would check on them every day. When they first started sprouting I was SO proud. As they continued to get a little bigger I kept an obsessive watch. I would play near them every afternoon just to be with them. In fact, I remember taking my little tiny toy cars (no gender stereotypes here!) outside and I would drive them around the small saplings as if they were giant redwoods.

I knew those skinny little green beings would grow up to be big tall trees one day. I remember thinking that I would need to replant them somewhere with more space once they were big enough…I used to daydream about the spots were they would eventually live. They deserved lots of room for their leaves, roots and eventually…their own little acorns. I visualized the birds that would perch on their branches, the woodpeckers that would pound on their trunks. Even at that very young age I understood the value of a tree.

One day while I was playing in a different part of the yard, a neighborhood friend came over to see my sister. She brought with her a younger sister, a toddler, complete with random bursts of energy and that zig zag pattern while running that seems to only make sense to very small children. At first I didn’t really think much about their visit…I was minding my own business conducting my very important play activity (I think I might have been drawing on the sidewalk with chalk or something) but then I saw her….she was walking around with no apparent purpose and getting dangerously close to my little green babies! My heart started racing, I dropped my chalk, stood up and just as I was starting to charge over she did the unthinkable. Her little tiny toddler feet stepped on my precious herd of acorn saplings! Like the giant marshmallow man in the original Ghostbuster movies she smashed around smiling, pounding her feet while giggling, seemingly oblivious to the damage she was causing below. I’m not exactly sure what I did next. But I was very angry and I was crying and I’m pretty positive I never spoke to her or her sister again. Obviously this little girl was a toddler…a child…looking back I realize she didn’t understand that what she was doing was wrong or the devastating affect it would have on me. She didn’t mean to kill my acorn babies….but the result was the same. Their lives were over and I never tried to plant anymore acorns.

Fast forward to last year when I met a sloth named Milena.

She arrived at the rescue center where I worked with a day old baby attached to her belly. She had just given birth at a dog and cat vet clinic after having been knocked out of a tree. The tree she was living in had literally been…cut…down…with her still in it! The people who cut the tree down didn’t intend to hurt Milena that day…they didn’t intend to break her arm….they didn’t intend to cause premature labor for her unborn baby…in fact they are the ones who took her to the vet clinic, having realized their mistake and hoping to help her. They didn’t intend to hurt any sloths that day…they just wanted to cut down a tree.

Milena had a presence about her…she commanded respect. She was a wild, gorgeous creature that was happy to mind her business so long as you minded yours as well. She had her baby and she was so good with him, even with only one working arm…she would hold him in place while he tried to nurse, she shared leaves with him and nuzzled his little face. When it was time to rest she would curl up around him keeping him warm and protected. She was his world and she wasn’t going to stop being his mom just because her world was drastically altered. After a series of x-rays we realized that she was going to need surgery to have any chance of healing her broken arm and returning to the wild with her baby following behind. Driving her to San Jose for surgery was no easy task. Maneuvering through that crazy traffic is stressful enough alone, but when you’re caring precious cargo it makes you want to yell out the window at everyone whizzing past, “Be careful! Don’t you dare hit me!” I now understand the motivation behind the creation of those “baby on board” signs.

Luckily her surgery was a success and we were even able to keep the baby on her for the entire procedure so that they were never separated.

In the first few weeks post surgery we were very hopeful. Things were looking up for Milena and her baby. It was a lot of hard work and sleepless nights. I was having to supplement the baby with goats milk because he wasn’t gaining weight on his own with just Milena’s milk. It was hardly a surprise considering everything they had both been through. I was even starting to gain Milena’s trust. She would let me hold her to take her outside for bathroom visits, take her baby for feedings and bring him back….she even started to enjoy me grooming her and helping to remove extra ear wax!

Don’t get me wrong…she was a WILD animal and if given the chance she would have climbed up into the forest canopy without even looking back. But she made the best out of a terrible situation and during the process we both made a new friend. She knew the difference between me and other people. When I walked up to her and said hello, she looked over for me like she knew I was bringing her a special treat. Her favorite food, young cinnamon leaves, were almost always in my hand and I used to love watching her frantically try to get them in her open mouth…like she had never eaten before and she was starving…basically the same face I make while eating nachos.

Eventually her baby passed away. This whole ordeal was too much on his tiny little body and he was surely born with complications like unhealthy/underdeveloped lungs. Losing him was tough…seeing them together was SO amazing, probably some of the most beautiful moments I will ever witness…were their interactions together. I was worried Milena would be depressed, so I never let her forget that she still had me and that we would keep fighting until her arm was healed and she was back out into the forest. I was so determined that she was going to be free again one day…able to make more babies. But strangely…her arm wasn’t healing. It had been three months since her surgery and her arm was still painful and the X-rays showed the bone was not making enough progress. Finally through some research and comparison with human studies, we realized that her body was rejecting the metal pins placed during surgery. We pulled the pins out and tried applying a regular cast…going back to square one to see if conventional methods would heal the bone.

Immediately after pulling the pins she felt SO much better…this made me hopeful…maybe luck was finally on her side? She was more active and her arm was less swollen. However, after a few weeks with the regular cast, it became clear that she still wasn’t healing. X-rays showed that the damage to her bones was too severe and she was never going to completely heal. Unfortunately the only choice left was to amputate her arm. The day of her amputation surgery…I couldn’t even watch…I was too sad because I knew that this was the beginning of the end for her. How could she be released with only one arm? If she had to spend her life in captivity…there was no way she would survive…her spirit was too strong to be kept in a cage. I visited her every day after her surgery. Bringing her her favorite treats, taking her out to trees to see if she wanted to climb. I was clinging to any shred of possibility that maybe with a lot of help and patience she could learn to live in the wild with only one arm. I was never going to give up on her. But to be honest…she never seemed like herself after the amputation. She had been climbing without a functional arm for months…but now that that dead weight was gone she wasn’t climbing well at all. Her balance was off and she just seemed depressed. I think losing her arm was the final straw. She died two weeks after her amputation. I was with her…holding her head and rubbing her ears. I hope she knew how much I loved her.

Milena lost her home, her baby, her arm, her freedom, and ultimately her life…all because we as a society do not understand the value of a tree. Often, we don’t understand or appreciate the value of most things. Why is it as adults we often crash through life like a toddler, destroying things in our path without a consideration as to how it affects others? We should know better by now. We can do better.

I will never forget Milena the sloth or her baby…and the value of their lives…or the value of a tree. Join me in the fight against forest destruction. Share this story and help me remind people to think before they cut. #ThinkBeforeYouCut

By Sam Trull

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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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First Grade Class “Adopts” Sloths to Teach Rainforest Conservation

Sam Trull — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 12:34:58 +0000

The Sloth Institute announces the Elementary School Sloth Challenge, inspired by Ms. Megan Yang, 1st grade teacher at West Point Elementary in Surprise, Arizona. Ms. Yang believes in teaching students at a young age about conservation. “I am using the “adoption” of a sloth as a way to educate students about sloths as well as rainforest conservation. I am hoping by “adopting” Chuck, this will help them become personally invested in rainforest conservation and teach them that if you love wildlife you should keep them in the wild and not as pets”, said Ms. Yang.

“We are so excited about what Ms. Yang is doing by inspiring her young students in the importance of the rainforest, conservation and helping with the message that while cute, these sloths are not meant to be pets and they belong in the rainforest. It is through education that we empower our youth to create action and awareness and long-term change”, remarked Seda Sejud, co-founder The Sloth Institute Costa Rica. “We hope other all elementary grade classes will join the challenge.”

Teachers and their classes can join the October “challenge” to honor Sloth International Day, by “adopting” a sloth and submitting an anti pet (sloth) trade slogan thereby bringing awareness to children about the importance of conservation and anti pet trade policies. See TSI’s Facebook page for more on the #elementaryslothchallenge. The class with the best anti pet trade slogan will win a 20 minute skype session with Sam Trull (featured in the recent PBS Special, “Natures Miracle Orphans”) and an orphaned baby sloth being prepared for release.

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Two orphaned hand raised sloths 1st step in their journey back home.. the big release, part 1.

Sam Trull — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 20:15:36 +0000

The time has come. Every time another sloth is rescued I make them a promise. For Kermie and Ellen.

I promised them that I would never stop trying to get them safely and responsibly released. Today we are fulfilling a HUGE part of that promise, what we are calling “the big release” and I couldn’t be more excited! A little over a year ago, together with Seda we founded The Sloth Institute (TSI).

Since origination, the exact vision of TSI has evolved based on resources and need but the main purpose has always been to increase knowledge and welfare for sloths. Our first project and goal has been to create an amazing release for the orphaned babies that I have spent the past three years of my life caring for. Seeing these tiny little creatures, recently orphaned, grow and learn is amazing…but then what? How do we get them back into the forest where they belong when they’ve learned most of what they know from humans? The answer is: we are not entirely sure…but what we are sure of…is that we have to try and that we will document every step of the way.

Today begins that process of returning Ellen and Kermie to the wild. They will be transferred to a large (6x6x6m) cage nestled in the beach front jungle of Tulemar’s maritime zone property located in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. While inside the cage Kermie and Ellen will have a chance to climb and explore while getting used to their new environment. After about a month or two, we will open the sloth sized door to the cage so that Ellen and Kermie are free to leave! They will still have access to the cage and food that we provide inside of the cage but they will finally get to decide if they want to be inside or not!

We hope, that over time they will gradually find more and more food and shelter outside of the cage and we can stop helping them…. but this will all be done at their pace and when they are ready. Additionally, both Ellen and Kermie are fitted with VHF tracking collars which will enable the TSI research team to track them no matter where they go in the jungle and ensure that they are ok and record their behaviors and food choices in the forest. While tracking Ellen and Kermie we will also take data on wild sloths in the same area to have a comparison of what Ellen and Kermie should be doing when outside of the cage.

As excited as I am for this next step for Ellen and Kermie…I am also very nervous. This could be a complete failure and they may never really learn how to live in the forest again. That is definitely my biggest fear and we truly have no idea how what will happen. The only thing I am sure of is that now they have a chance…and that we have literally done EVERYTHING we could possibly do to make it the best chance possible. Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported us along the way! Please stay tuned for more updates as we go on this journey with Ellen and Kermie and the big release! #thebigrelease #helpusgobackhome #slothlove

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The big sloth release; Tulemar, sloths and me

Sam Trull — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 11:49:56 +0000

Hello, I’d like to introduce myself! My name is Hannah, and I’m the newest member of The Sloth Institute research team! I’m here to make sure that Kermie and Ellen, two two-toed hand-raised orphaned sloths, have a successful release, which *fingers crossed* will be happening in about a month. Before that happens, we want to get to know the area a little bit more.

The area that Kermie and Ellen are lucky enough to call their new home is Tulemar, which is a beautiful resort near Manuel Antonio, a well-known national park in Costa Rica. I’ve been here in Tulemar for little over a week, and I am so excited for Kermie and Ellen to arrive! While staying at a resort sounds a bit luxurious (and trust me, some of it is! Our room is so nice!) it isn’t without a large dose of hard work. Part of my research is making sure that Tulemar is ready for the sloth release, which means finding out who Kermie and Ellen will be sharing their home with. And let me say that they have quite a few neighbors!

So far I’ve seen troops of white faced capuchin monkeys, squirrel monkeys, and howler monkeys (and I’ve had fun howling back at them), tons of hermit crabs scattering the beach (every step you take sends hermit crabs tumbling as they pull back inside their shell), lots of beautiful birds, a few intimidatingly large iguanas, and of course, sloths galore! Every day I walk through all of Tulemar, and there is a LOT of Tulemar to explore! Thirty three acres filled with beautiful bungalows, trails through maritime nature preserves, and an unfortunate abundance of steep hills. But apparently sloths love these thirty three acres-in one day, Tom and I found 14 sloths! And I’ve even seen a few mom-and baby couples! (While all those babies are adorable, they’ve got nothing on Monster and Chuck.)
When I’m not trekking the hills of Tulemar,

I’m helping guests find sloths, telling anyone who will listen how awesome sloths are, and watching sloth behavior to learn about how sloths behave in the wild. When it’s pouring rain (which happens quite often here in Costa Rica) you can find me at the computer working on cool gadgets for The Sloth Institute.

One of my most recent projects is an app that will not only connect people better to the work of The Sloth Institute, it will also help launch a very new exciting program we have been working on (more on this coming soon!) that will contribute to the education and conservation of the sloth population.

So with all of these projects to keep me busy, it might seem that I don’t have much time to enjoy the luxury of Tulemar, but believe me when I say that being able to see all these animals here makes up for it. Tulemar is a living example of how businesses can thrive will still allowing natural ecosystems to survive, and gives me hope as a conservationist that more businesses will see how successful this example is. I better stop before I begin a tangent about conservation, but I would like to end on a final note: I am very happy to join this team and can’t wait to see how our sloth release goes!

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Happy Birthday Dr Jane Goodall from your sloth friends

Sam Trull — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 20:45:34 +0000

Dear Dr. Goodall,

Last week I had the pleasure of hearing you speak live in my adopted country, Costa Rica. As always, your speech was inspirational and heartwarming and I left feeling like I could do anything. Like millions of other adventure seeking, animal loving, bleeding heart women…YOU are my inspiration. Because of you I know that one person can make a difference and that no dream is too big.

Because of you
I don’t find pleasure in buying the latest fashion or fighting the crowds on black Friday. Instead, I enjoy buying new ropes for the sloths to practice climbing or snake proof boots for hiking in the rainforest.

Because of you
I don’t find pleasure in waiting in line to gain entrance to the newest club while painfully wearing high heels. Instead, I prefer waiting while steadily holding my camera, trying not to blink so I don’t miss the next great shot.

Because of you
I don’t find pleasure in reading gossip columns and wondering how a certain celebrity looks while walking their dogs. Instead, I prefer reading scientific journal articles and popular science articles about life’s biggest mysteries.

Because of you
I don’t define myself based on my relationship status or whether I have children. Instead, my biggest goals in life are to publish books, make scientific discoveries and most importantly save animal lives.

Because of you
I don’t get excited about making money or spending money. Instead, I get excited about making a difference and spending quality time in nature.

But most importantly…
Because of you I’m not afraid to be bold…go after my dreams…and fight for what I believe in.

Thank you so much for everything you have done to make this world a better place.

My favorite quote from your recent speech was this, “Every single person has an impact on the world around them every single day and you have a choice. What kind of impact are you going to have?”

Because of you Jane, I am trying my best to make sure my impact is positive…and if I can accomplish just 1% of what you have accomplished in your 81 years of life…that would be a dream come true.

Happy Birthday Dr. Jane Goodall!

By Sam Trull

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“Sharing is Caring”….& meeting Moe the sloth at Cincinnati Zoo”

Sam Trull — Thu, 22 Jan 2015 14:59:41 +0000

Sharing is Caring” – one of the first behaviors you are taught as a small child in pre-school. While a very relevant and great life lesson, my hunch is that pre-school teachers nail this phrase to the board to avoid fights and snotty tear-stained cheeks…not so much for the underlying greater value.

But when you think about it, sharing really IS caring. Caring about something bigger than yourself. This past December I traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio to participate in something much bigger than myself. In an attempt to share what knowledge I have accumulated over the past two years, I presented about sloth rehabilitation during the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC) Symposium. In addition to speaking, I was also privy to many amazing talks ranging from how to build a homemade incubator to how to hand-raise, release and post-release monitor bobcats. The amount of knowledge in that conference room was both exciting and inspiring. Meeting people from across the US, I know I have made some lasting connections and I look forward to continuing to work with and share knowledge with other IWRC members. The night of the banquet I was honored with the presentation of the “2014 Susan M. Fosco Scholarship” which provided me with much needed financial assistance to attend the conference. Being one of those people who, “never wins anything” I felt very honored to receive such a special scholarship. Being presented with a fancy plaque at the banquet was pretty fun too!

Also while in Cincinnati, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit the Cincinnati Zoo’s very own sloth, “Moe”. Moe is a female adult Choloepus didactylus; the South American two-fingered sloth species. In addition to visiting with Moe I was also invited to speak about Sloth Rehabilitation to Zoo staff and volunteers in a brown bag seminar the day before the IWRC conference began. The Cinncinati Zoo staff came to my talk with great questions and before I knew it I had been talking for almost an hour and a half! It’s hard getting me to shut up once I start talking about sloths! I spent the rest of the day chatting with Moe’s keepers and meeting other zoo animals. Two days later, I went back to the Zoo again and was able to witness some amazing operant conditioning sessions. Not only is the Cincinnati Zoo committed to taking exemplary care of the animals in their collection, but they have also committed a large part of their budget to helping in-situ conservation efforts as well. Zoo visitors learn about how they can help animals in the wild, making Cincinnati Zoo animals true ambassadors to their counterparts living in their natural environments.

My trip to Cincinnati was short, but impactful. Having the opportunity to not only share knowledge with others in the same field, but also to meet my first American sloth…I feel truly inspired and re-committed to sloth conservation. There are so many people all over the globe working with sloths and wanting to learn more about them and help them in their native forests. I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what is possible and what can be learned about sloths and to be able to bring this passion to others reminds me of what sharing is truly about. #slothlove

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Sloths on the BBC – Our international sloth stars

Sam Trull — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 02:42:01 +0000

After learning that the rescue center where I worked was chosen as the Costa Rican Rescue Center to be featured in the BBC series, “Natures Miracle Orphans”, Hannah, one of our returning volunteers, and I literally ran screaming from the wildlife center and jumped fully-clothed into the pool, pausing only to remove our phones from our pockets. Somehow this gesture seemed like a perfect way to express our pure excitement about this wonderful opportunity; plus, let’s face it, we were really hot and sweaty because we live in the jungle.

Read about BBC’s Nature’s Miracle Orphans Show airing mid-August.

With almost 8 weeks of filming, participating in this series was a huge time commitment. However, towards the end of it, I found myself wishing it wasn’t going to be over. It’s really difficult to put into words how much this experience meant to me and how life changing it has been in many ways. The film crew was exceptional, was always respectful of the animals, and was a lot of fun to be around. Each day was a new and interesting challenge trying to figure out the best way to tell the animal’s stories while making time to film real life events and emergencies as they happened. At first, the process felt a little awkward having strangers around when it would normally be just a few of us taking care of the animals. Eventually though, being followed around by the crew and cameras felt so natural that I started to forget how life was without them. Every intimate moment, whether sad, happy, or scary, became a moment I wanted to share and felt privileged to be able to do so. We welcomed the film crew as members of the family, and I truly felt invested in the final product of the show. I always felt like this was a project we were creating together and that it was a fabulous way to let the world know what we are doing here in our corner of the rainforest in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica.

There is no “average day” and taking care of rescued wildlife, especially orphans, is a 24 hour commitment. My life revolves around what the animals need and most days are filled with feeding and exercising babies, gathering wild foods, observations, medical exams, instructing volunteers and of course rescues and releases. The opportunity to share my passion with the world is rare and precious, and having the chance to invite a diverse audience to ride the same emotional roller coaster that I live on a daily basis is something I will always cherish. I just hope that this series provides the audience with a new perspective on wildlife rescue. It is my goal that we portray these animals not just as cute and cuddly creatures that exist solely for us to have and to hold, but instead that they are amazing creatures with wonderful stories of their own and that they all deserve another chance to be wild.

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I Love Sloths……Join me & Help me Get them back home

Sam Trull — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 01:41:33 +0000

I love sloths

When I wake up in the morning…I think about sloths. When I go to sleep at night…I think about sloths….and throughout the day when not directly working on another project; I am completely engrossed in thoughts about sloths. In fact, just this morning…I shot out of bed with another research idea about sloths and went directly to my computer to start typing. If I could remember my dreams better…I’m pretty sure I would find that I dream about sloths too.

No people, that is NOT an exaggeration.

I realize that this description of my innermost ideas, may sound crazy to some and at the very least unbalanced to others. However, I don’t care because I LOVE sloths! The rest of the world is going wild over sloths and a lot of people, who have never even met one, are throwing around the idea that they adore them. But, I can assure you that my love is pure and is based solely on doing everything I can to save them. They are NOT meant to be pets or to be possessed or owned or spend their days in tiny cages. They are meant to be free and living in the forest as they evolved to live. They should be free to smell the breeze, feel the sun and make their own decisions about their lives.

Sloths are incredibly charismatic animals. They are gentle (when not stressed), beautiful, adorable, unique, smart, playful and just plain cool. They are also particularly vulnerable to the threats that humans impose (roads, dogs, habitat fragmentation, hunting, pet trade) yet they have survived over the centuries because of some incredible evolutionary adaptations. However, these exact evolutionary adaptations are what make them so difficult to care for in captivity and our encroachment on their habitat has lead to their frequent appearance at rescue centers throughout Central and South America.

I met my first rescued sloth orphan exactly 541 days ago. Her name is Pelota and she is now the oldest member of “The Three Amigos”. As soon as I saw her, I fell in love. Clutched tightly to her teddy bear she was fast asleep (it was day time and two-toed sloths are nocturnal). Her caregiver at the time started explaining Pelota’s diet and routine and then she said something that lit a fire inside of me that has yet to be extinguished. “Sloths always die”. My heart sank and I felt sick to my stomach. How could that be? Why? Why do they die? Instead of feeling discouraged…I felt motivated. I wanted to know more…everything I could about sloths. I NEEDED to know more. That night, I went home and like a good 21st century researcher…I started googling. Downloading and reading every paper I could find about sloths I began to learn about their biology and behavioral needs which started to paint a picture of why they are so difficult to hand-raise and maintain in captivity. However, the more I learned the more I realized that the current scientific literature still leaves so many unanswered questions.

Being naturally inquisitive, these unanswered questions are what keep me up at night. I feel an intense obligation and responsibility to not only keep the sloths in my care alive, but for them to thrive and make it back home to the jungle. The thought of “my babies” living the rest of their lives behind the protective bars of a cage makes me nauseous. They deserve more. In order to give them what they deserve I need to learn as much as possible through scientific research as well as work with the numerous other places around the world who care for sloths. Any person who works to save and return sloths to the wild, is a friend of mine and I want to meet them, talk to them and figure out how we can work together to save as many sloths as possible.

A year and a half later, Pelota is thriving with her younger friends Kermie and Ellen and they are my first hand-raised sloth orphans gearing up for their big release. But the process of getting them to this point has been very time consuming and expensive. Even more expensive is studying this process and planning a post-release observational study. The three amigos will be the first hand-raised sloths that I release back to the wild, but they won’t be the last. It is important to learn from this process and use that knowledge to help future rescued sloths. The Sloth Institute was created to seek scientific answers to these burning questions and stop at nothing to give every orphaned or injured sloth the second chance they deserve to be wild.

The sloths that I care for need me. They need me to love them unselfishly and they need me to help them get back home. Are you willing to prove your love for sloths and join me?

Sam Trull
Director and Co-Founder

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