One of the most beloved and emblematic wildlife species of Costa Rica had its own special celebration last Saturday. Zoo Ave, Costa Rica’s premier wildlife rescue center, observed International Sloth Day with a series of educational activities centered on one of the cutest and most docile arboreal creatures in Costa Rica and 17 other countries in Latin America.

October 19 was International Sloth Day. Zoo Ave kicked off a countdown two days prior with a series of interesting facts such about the Bradypodidae family of arboreal mammals. Some of the most fascinating facts include:

• Sloths are pretty good swimmers
• Sloths do just about everything, including giving birth, while hanging upside down from tree branches
• Sloths can rotate their heads almost 360 degrees

Zoo Ave organized many fun activities related to sloths on their special day. Children were guests of honor at Zoo Ave on that day, and thus a special birthday party complete with an enormous cake was held. Children from all over Costa Rica enjoy getting their faces painted to resemble Bradypus tridactylus, the three-toed sloths that are commonly found in many areas of Costa Rica, including the dry forests of Guanacaste and even near the beaches at Playas del Coco.

The Sloth Situation in Costa Rica

The conferences throughout the day emphasized that although sloths are of least concern when it comes to their conservation status in Costa Rica, that could quickly change due to the rapid loss of habitat caused by real estate development. There is also a major concern with regard to shady entrepreneurs in the Caribbean who are forcibly capturing and exploiting sloths for financial gain. These nefarious business people charge tourists for the chance to touch and interact with sloths.

Special attention was called to two recent incidents in Costa Rica that prompted the intervention of Zoo Ave officials. One involved the near-electrocution of Simona, an adult female sloth that died days after she suffered several electrical discharges after hanging from high-voltage power lines in Tilaran, province of Guanacaste. Simona’s tragic accident and death were chronicled by the Costa Rica Star. Another sad incident involved Chucho, a male juvenile sloth that died after the tree he was growing up in was cut down in San Carlos, province of Alajuela. Although Chucho was rushed to Zoo Ave, he perished after a few days.

Not everything was sad news, however. The highlight of the day was the habitat reintegration of Orotina, a female sloth that suffered from electrical discharges as she hung from high-voltage electrical power lines. She had better luck than Simona and will now live in Zoo Ave’s private forest reserve in La Garita, province of Alajuela, where other rescued sloths have been rehabilitated.

Source: La Prensa Libre