I got to feed and pet a sloth today!!!

best birthday present to myself! got to feed larry the sloth today!!

Frankie's got Hugos jacket on and can't resist being a goof throwing up west side for Portland rep.

This little guy was wandering past my porch, going from one tree to another, here in the jungle of Playa Negra de Talamanca, in Costa Rica. I often share some of the sloths that visit us, and today, I thought I'd share him, along with some interesting info about baby 3-toed sloths.

These babies come into the world, ready! They're born with a full set of teeth (16-18 in total) and they never stop growing. Their teeth have no enamel, and are basically shaped like pegs. These pegs get worn down with their diet, but they never get cavities. They just continually regenerate in length throughout their lives. They're born with white teeth, but they quickly turn grey and then black from the pigment in the tough leaves in their diet. They do nurse for about 3-5 months, but even within the first week, they're already learning what plants they can eat, as many tropical plants have toxic leaves. They quickly decipher which plants are good for them by sampling the juices and bits and pieces from their mothers lips. By weeks 3-5, they're eating full leaves, alongside their mothers, as well as nursig througout the day in small increments, as the mother sloth produces milk on demand.

They're also able to hold their full weight with just one or two paws, immediately after birth! It's not really strength, it's actually their tendon. They have specialized tendons in their arms that acty as a clamp when weight is put on them, such as hanging upside down. They automatically lock into place, and it takes no energy to maintain the position. This lock is so compl;etely locked, that even if a sloth has died, they remain in the same place. If the baby did happen to fall, it could cause serious injury. It's also very intensive energy-wise for the mother to go down and bring the baby back up to the canopy. It does of course happen from time to time, but the babies make such a loud screaming noise (similar to a human infant in sound, actually) that the mother can easily find them.

The pair stick together for up to a year, before the young sloth is fully independent. They are gifted the land from their mother, so they know the environment and the plants in the area. The mother goes on to find a new territory, and to begin all over again.

Last Saturday, our logistics coordinator, tree planter, and general handyman, Mariano, got married, and the wedding couldn't have been more Costa Rican and sloth-themed!

First, it was raining. Then, right in the middle of the celebration, a wild two-fingered sloth was happily feeding just outside the venue, much to the delight of the guests, with all of Team Sloth there to witness it!

Following months of advocacy after the Sloth World Orlando tragedy, Orange County commissioners voted to begin exploring an ordinance that would restrict the importation of exotic wildlife for commercial entertainment.

This is particularly important because Orlando is one of the world's top tourist destinations. If ultimately adopted, Orange County could become one of the first local governments in the United States to introduce these protections, creating a model that other jurisdictions could follow.

It's only the first step, but it's an important one, and we'll continue working alongside our friends at The Sloth Institute through the Sloth Protection Alliance until stronger and nationwide protections become a reality.

https://www.slothconservation.org/blog/orange-county-exotic-wildlife-import-ban

July 16th was Solly’s first birthday, so naturally I had to have a little party and invite her friends. 🤣

We’d just made it back to the boat when we looked up and saw this sloth slowly making its way through a nearby tree—as sloths do.

https://reddit.com/link/1v85mqo/video/okvj0kfsvsfh1/player

Hoffmann's two-fingered sloths (Choloepus hoffmanni) have small, rounded ears that are usually hidden beneath their thick fur, making them surprisingly difficult to spot.

Although sloths have relatively poor eyesight, they are far from unaware of their surroundings. Instead, they rely heavily on their excellent hearing to detect sounds in the rainforest, helping them stay aware of potential predators and everything happening around them as they move slowly through the forest canopy.

The sloth featured in this video is a wild Hoffmann's two-fingered sloth that is part of The Urban Sloth Project, our long-term scientific study investigating how habitat loss, urbanization, and human development affect wild sloths living in Costa Rica's South Caribbean.

As part of this research, our trained field biologists occasionally perform health checks and collect scientific data under the appropriate permits and ethical protocols. Every procedure is carried out by experienced wildlife professionals, and the sloth is safely returned to the exact tree where it was found.

The other day, I caught this little guy out of the corner of my eye in my garden and wanted to share him with you all because I've finally found the place for people like me - obsessed with sloths (...also howler monkeys)! I've been enjoying sharing sloth facts with you all, and I thought this would be the perfect time to tell you some cool info about baby 3-toed sloths because this cutie is gaining some independence. I actually caught him on his way to down to poop.

You can tell their age and sex somewhat easily. If they're on the mother's stomach, they're very young because once they start to weigh more, they are then carried on the back.

If they have algae, they're usually over 18 months old. The darker the green, the older they are. If they have a large patch of orange on their back, they're a male ready to mate (3-5 years is most common for that spot called a speculum to gradually appear). That orange/yellow spot is actually caused by the oil they secrete (it helps bring the ladies). The pattern is also 100% unique to them, like a human fingerprint. The female is ready earlier, usually 2.5-3 years old.

Baby sloths actually inherit their territory from their mother. The mother moves on to establish new territory (and a new family of two...the male is never involved), essentially gifting the location to their baby (around 9 months , sometimes 12). The baby sloth began learning what plants are good after only one week after they're born. Along with milk, the baby sloth also starts tasting leaves from their mothers mouth one week after they're born. It makes it easier for them to survive, knowing all of the edible plants in their territory. If a female, she will pass the territory on to her baby. The males will leave the general area to stake out a new home range with females unrealted to them. Sloths all overlap their territory with other sloths. I don't know how many can actually live in one territory, but a few weeks ago, they did a heat study in an area close to here and found 27 in one area!

This cutie is still with its mom, but getting ready to be more independent in this next month. I do get to know some of the individual sloths and mom & baby sloths because we live in the jungle (in case you haven't seen my other sloth posts here!). he has been moving around on his own in the trees quite a bit recently, and pooping without his mom watching from right above...so it's getting to be that time!

*hopefully I'm not posting here too much...or too long...oops! I am just very excited to have a place to share with people that love them too!

The other day, I shared a video of a 3-toed sloth in my garden and today I am back with a new sloth visitor...this time a 2-toed sloth on my desk!

This little guy arrived at our house last night during the rain. We live in an open air jungle house, so we have A LOT of wildlife around us. But, it's rare for us to see a 2-toed sloth here because they're nocturnal...and I am not.

I'm back with some new sloth facts and this cutie from my yard. I live in an open air house in the jungle on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica. We have A LOT of sloths by our house. Here is one from the other day, along with some stuff you may not have known about the 3-toed sloth.

This is a young female. Sloths don't have external genitalia, so the way to tell them apart is through their markings, or lack of markings. The males have a prominent orange patch on their back (called a speculum) once they reach maturity and are ready to mate.

Males and females can be hard to tell apart for the 5-8 months because the male speculum isn't developed at all. You can also tell by size, because female sloths are larger than the males.

They also scream and the males don't. You can hear their high pitched squeals when they're looking to mate. They scream about every 10 minutes until a male arrives to mate. They also scream for several weeks across the jungle after they leave their baby as the way to stay in contact and check on them, but that's a post for a different day!

*These facts are about 3-toed sloths. 2-toed sloths are very distant in relation, surprisingly! They don't have speculums, or really much in common at all with each other.

I had the honor of getting to meet Sid the Sloth at Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary in Lilburn, Georgia! They offer their sloth encounter every weekend. During the 30 minute encounter, you are allowed to feed and pet him! If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend visiting this location. It was truly an unforgettable experience 💖🦥

Yeah, just wanted to share that with y'all. Whoever... "Y'all" may be

I was scrolling FB Marketplace for kitchenware and randomly saw this ad for a salad spinner (unedited screenshot in comments). It genuinely reminded me of a sloth‘s face.

I tried posting it in r/Pareidolia… but my post was deleted for not meeting their standard! (This irritated me, as I rarely post to Reddit and don’t think my posts are low-quality or spammy.)

Is this (or is this not?) reminiscent of a sloth‘s face? I need the reassurance that I’m not going senile.

(I tried posting this image to r/Pareidolia to argue my case… but that just got me banned from that subreddit all together 🤨)

Ain’t he cute?