Sloths are more than fascinating rainforest animals. They have become symbols of strength, hope, and resilience for people around the world.

When we think about the loss of forests, we usually imagine clear-cut deforestation. But across Latin America, another kind of forest loss is also happening…

Gregarious animals, or animals that live in groups, often have unique collective nouns to refer to them. For example, a group of flamingos is called a flamboyance, while a group of owls is known as a parliament. You may have also heard of a conspiracy of ravens or a murder of crows. But what about sloths?

Young people always talk about what they want to be when they are older. Maybe they want to be a journalist, a baker, a dentist, or even a boss of a huge company. There are so many options!

Are sloths drinking more water than before? Is the smoke from cars affecting the delicate micro-ecosystems of green algae and moths that sloths have in their fur? Are sloths affected by artificial lights?

Last year we launched the first-ever International Sloth Festival. In spite of some rough beginnings and the remnants of Covid restrictions, we had a lot more people than we expected and the event itself was awesome!

Over the last few weekends of December 2021, we and our sloth guardians in Puerto Viejo witnessed deforestation occurring in the Maritime-Terrestrial Zone (MTZ) of the South Caribbean – specifically between Selina Hostel and the Cocles viewpoint.