sloth institute 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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The Sloth Institute and Toucan Rescue Ranch Partner to Help Orphan Sloths

Sam Trull — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 01:16:46 +0000

Collaboration focuses on releasing hand-raised orphaned sloths back into the rainforest

June 13, 2016: (Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica)

The Sloth Institute (TSI), located in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica announces its collaboration with Toucan Rescue Ranch (TRR) to begin a Sloth Release and Education Program at TRR to enhance its Sloth Release and Education Program. TRR’s release site is located in Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, which is one-hour from their rescue center. This release site has 40 acres of rainforest where 16 sloths have already been released by TRR. TSI is excited to further this release program with the release of hand-raised orphaned sloths.

The collaboration, in alignment with TSI’s mission of the conservation and well-being of sloths, focuses on a 3-part release plan of hand-raised orphaned sloths back into the rainforest.

We are very excited to be able to share what factors we have learned and are learning that contribute to hand-raised orphaned sloths successful re-entry into the rainforest”, said Sam Trull, co-founder and Sloth Director at TSI. “The sloths at TRR will begin their journey into TSI’s Soft-Release Program. Fitted with tracking collars, the sloths will be tracked around the clock to collect behavioral data, locational data and health status information; critical for the replication for other orphans to have a chance at going back home to the rainforest”.

“Our hope with this collaboration is to better learn how to prepare orphaned sloths brought to our center for eventual re-entry into the rainforest” said Leslie Howle, Founder/Owner of TRR. “There is a critical need to give these orphaned sloths a second chance at life and with The Sloth Institute’s assistance we are so excited to be a part of the sloths journey back to the jungle where they belong.”.

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A sloth tries on her tracking collar for the first time which allows researchers to find her in the rainforestTrull, who spent more than a decade working with primates, began her study of sloths three years ago. “Sloths are not a primate species but are very similar and endearing because of their human like qualities and are in danger”, said Trull. Howle who has spent over 12-years working with Costa Rican wildlife and nine-years with sloths, is excited to enhance their release site and see sloths off into their journey to be wild. Trull and Howle have been sharing sloth information for the past two years.

About The Sloth Institute of Costa Rica

The mission of The Sloth Institute Costa Rica is to enhance the well-being and conservation of wild and captive sloths through research and education. TSI is also dedicated to collaborating with sloth rehabilitation programs to assist with the release of hand-raised orphaned sloths. TSI is located in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. For further information or to donate to this project, email info@theslothinstitute.org.

About Toucan Rescue Ranch

The Toucan Rescue Ranch (TRR) was established in 2004 by Leslie Howle and Jorge Murillo as a rescue center for toucans and other birds. TRR quickly expanded to owls as well. In 2007, a baby sloth, Millie, arrived and was solely in Leslie and Jorge’s care. Millie is initially what transformed the Toucan Rescue Ranch into to a wildlife rescue center. TRR focuses on the rescue, rehabilitation, research and release of Costa Rican wildlife. We provide care for confiscated, sick and injured animals. For further information, or to donate to this project, email info@toucanrescueranch.org or visit www.toucanrescueranch.org.

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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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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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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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Good Advice–why you shouldn’t handle wild sloths

Sam Trull — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 22:49:02 +0000

Teachable Moments….What would you do if you came across wild sloths?

At various times in my life I have worked as a teacher. Whether I was wowing students with the abilities of a spider monkey’s prehensile tail in Costa Rica or leading a trek in the Malagasy rainforest at night to search for aye-ayes…my favorite lessons were always those that occurred naturally through an experience we were all having together. Being able to relate a current situation to a really interesting fact usually results in better retention of that information. But also for the teacher, it’s a much more passionate way to express yourself…and in my opinion, a much more enjoyable way to teach.

Last week, I experienced a similar teachable moment when we received a phone call about a wild sloth in distress. A group of tourists staying in nearby Manuel Antonio had been approached by a neighbor’s gardener holding an adult three-toed sloth and he was asking if they wanted to take a picture with the sloth. Luckily, these tourists knew immediately that touching and holding wild animals is a bad idea and instead of saying yes, they said “No!” and also asked him to please put the wild sloth back in a tree. They kept an eye on the sloth for a while and started to get worried that his behavior wasn’t quite normal and that maybe he was sick. He also had a very strange “shaved part” on his back and looked like he was injured.

Once we received this call, we immediately jumped into action and went to see how we could help. Upon arrival the sloth seemed pretty normal…curled up in a ball sleeping in the top of a palm tree…but obviously I needed to get closer in order to assess his health status.

I climbed a ladder and went all the way to the top in order to be within reaching distance. Moving very slowly and staying very quiet I was able to see that his eyes, mouth, fur, and muscle tone were all normal. In addition I noticed that his stomach was empty meaning he had just successfully taken his once a week trip to the toilet. Gently coaxing him to show me his back I discovered, as I suspected, that the shaved and wounded looking part that worried the tourists was just his normal male patch. Male three toed sloths have a very distinguishable patch of fur on their backs that is much shorter, softer and orange/yellow colored with a black stripe down the middle. It makes sexual identification really easy in this species.

Happy to discover that he looked healthy and normal…I then started to look around to figure out if there was anything we could do to help him. What became very obvious as soon as I started to “think like a sloth” was that this male had no good way to get back to the trees that he could eat. He was stuck in a palm tree, surrounded by other palm trees, parking lots and houses. The good trees that he could eat and hide in were about 20 meters away. I know most of you might be thinking that 20 meters is nothing…but for a sloth, 20 meters is a big deal…especially if there is no easy climbing route. Sloths can’t jump, they can’t see very far away and they move slowly and deliberately. Each step uses up valuable calories that they can’t afford to waste. Wild sloths have survived for millions of years by being VERY good at efficient movements through the trees.

After a day of being handled and stressed out, I hated the idea of having to grab him again, but it became obvious that the best thing to do was get him back to where he was originally found…before he had been interrupted. Climbing the ladder again, this time with a towel in hand, I quickly grabbed the sloth, wrapped him in the towel and climbed back down the ladder.

A few minutes prior to grabbing him we asked the gardener where he had found him and we identified a beautiful water apple tree with ample hiding and climbing spots that connected to many other trees including a guarumo tree with many yummy leaves for him to eat. Carefully carrying him over to the water apple tree, I placed him on the trunk and he immediately rushed (sloth style) up into the canopy and didn’t even turn around to say goodbye. He was probably so grateful to be back somewhere that he felt safe and hidden again.

After ensuring the sloth’s safety and return to his territory we spoke to the gardener and explained why he shouldn’t touch a wild sloth again (unless in immediate danger) and how it is very stressful to be handled by people and can get them disoriented, lost and sick. We also chatted with the tourists who first reported the distressed wild sloth and I explained that the patch on his back was normal…and we thanked them for their help. Luckily this rescue was pretty easy and quick. There was no struggle and the sloth being helped was in good physical condition. But what was most important about this experience was the learning opportunity for this gardener, the tourists, business owners and any local people who may be reading. Through teachable moments like this, I’ve started to realize that our duty as wildlife rehabbers is not only to the wildlife that we rescue, but also to the community….we are educators and we have a chance to help make human lives better through education and by resolving human/wildlife encounters that no one is sure how to handle. Remember, leave the wild sloth handling to the experts and enjoy from afar.

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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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