ConservationNewsPublicationsSloth Diaries
With International Sloth Day just around the corner (October 20th), The Sloth Institute (TSI) is celebrating the sloth lives it has helped to save and thanking its supporters as it marks a special milestone – successfully releasing two more young and delicate three-fingered sloths back into the wild.
TSI is based in Costa Rica, and is leading the rest of the world in its efforts to research the behavioral ecology of wild, rehabilitating and released sloths after successfully rehabilitating two three-fingered sloths called Destiny and Pocahontas – two of the few three-fingered sloths in Costa Rica to be successfully rehabilitated from a very young age and returned into the wild.
Destiny spent the first half of her rehabilitation journey with our rescue partner, Toucan Rescue Ranch. Their support and collaboration through our Saving Sloths Together program was instrumental in getting Destiny to the point of being able to be released.
TSI, which is a not-for-profit organization, aims to research captive, wild and recently released sloths, so that scientists and animal-lovers all over the world might better understand the internet’s favorite slowpokes, as well as ensuring the conservation of sloths and providing care for injured sloths so they can be released.
The two three-fingered sloths were both found on the ground in the jungle as very young and sick sloths and took many months of care, training and monitoring to get them to a proper size and skill level so that they could both be released back into the wild.
While The Sloth Institute has successfully released many two-fingered sloths, three-fingered sloths are much more difficult to care for and most rescue centers around the country report a very low survival rate for three-fingered sloths (especially babies), making Destiny and Pocahontas’ journeys all the more special.
Pedro Montero, the Education and Conservation Coordinator at TSI, is one of the team members who helps rehabilitate each sloth. He said: “The training for release begins from the very first day they are in our care.”
“As three-fingered sloths are strict herbivores, we make it a priority to provide a wide variety of fresh leaves multiple times a day so that their gut bacteria is healthy and their nutrition is correct for growing and healing. We also provide proper climbing structures and practice trees, so that their motor skills develop accordingly.”
Sam Trull, Sloth Director and Co-Founder of TSI, said: “Three-fingered sloths are not known to survive in rehabilitation very well. I have been contacted by many other rescue centers in Latin America that have not been able to achieve this yet because it is so difficult, so we are really excited that we’ve been able to get two three-fingered sloths to the goal of release.”
“I think a large part of this success can be credited to the work we have done studying the behavioral ecology of wild populations. Understanding more about their natural behaviors and complex dietary requirements aids in our ability to make more informed choices during the rehabilitation process.”
Both sloths are fitted with special VHF tracking collars, so that the TSI team can continue to monitor and track their progress in the wild.
Sam added: “What we’ve been able to learn from tracking sloths in the wild has helped us with Destiny and Pocahontas, and it also means we can share what we have learned with other rescue centers across the world to ensure that more three-fingered sloths can survive and be released.”
The Sloth Institute hopes that it will be able to continue to rehabilitate and study many more sloths in the future. Thanks to donors and supporters, as well as partner organizations such as Toucan Rescue Ranch, sloths like Destiny and Pocahontas have a chance to survive and return to the wild.
