Adopt-A-SlothConservationReleased SlothsSloth Diaries
Santana, a two-fingered male sloth who we estimated to be about a year old, is one of our “Saving Sloths Together” (SST) sloths. This project is partnered with the Toucan Rescue Ranch (TRR) which helps provide greater opportunities for sloths in need.
Santana was rescued by The Sloth Institute in 2017 and was in terrible condition upon his arrival – extremely malnourished and severely dehydrated. The weaning period is one of the most dangerous times in a young sloth’s life because they are learning to navigate the forest on their own and this is when they are most susceptible to diseases, predators and human disturbances. Santana was most likely naturally weaned from his mother but was not thriving. When we found Santana on a trail in the forest he was extremely weak and thin from being sick for so long. He was able to recover at our partner TRR’s facility and once he was all better he went into our pre-release enclosure to be fattened up and get used to his new tracking collar. When we opened his enclosure door it took him a couple weeks to go out but once he was out he has not looked back and is maintaining his weight in the wild just fine so far!
While at the clinic Santana loved his smoothies and would rip the syringe from his caregivers hands if he wasn’t being fed fast enough. Santana was also a leaf snob and would refuse any leaves that were not perfect/young/fresh enough. He was also a master escape artist. Santana was originally confined to help with his recovery but as he gained strength he found dozens of ways to get out. He somehow fit through the tiniest openings, something we had never seen a sloth do before. After about a week or so, Santana was moved into the sloth house, which is a more open space, and still managed to escape every now and then. Throughout all of this Santana occasionally showed his softer side. He was introduced to the other highschooler sloths (a group of seven orphaned two-fingered sloths that were around his age and size) and would sometimes sniff the others and occasionally kiss Toffee (another two-fingered sloth). This would last for a few minutes before he started swatting at Toffee’s head making it clear that he was a solitary animal and did not want to be bothered with the group.
Santana eventually doubled in weight and compared to the others who transitioned with him, Santana was the most well-adjusted sloth and proved to be an excellent candidate for reintroduction into the wild.
Toucan Rescue Ranch and The Sloth Institute came together to form Saving Sloths Together (SST), a Costa Rica wide project seeking to provide greater opportunity for sloths in need. Together we are improving the process of sloth rescue, rehabilitation and release in Costa Rica. Join us in #SavingSlothsTogether
