September 2025 | Tales From the Jungle
We are wrapping up September with more than just the arrival of Slothtober (everyone’s favourite time of year!). It’s been another whirlwind month for Team Sloth, complete with a long-awaited cross-country expedition to expand our work into new territory, plus important community workshops that strengthen the roots of our conservation efforts. But first, we have an invitation for you…
Sloths at WCN Expo!
We are excited to announce that this year we will be back at the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) Expo in San Francisco, CA, on October 3 and 4.
Expo weekend brings together conservationists, scientists, supporters, and storytellers from around the world to share ideas, develop collaborations and celebrate the work being done to protect wildlife globally.
If you are attending, be sure to visit our booth and say hello! We would love to meet you and talk about all things sloth. You can RSVP and grab your ticket here.
Three Plots, Two Sloths, and One Happy Team
At the end of last month, our team made the twelve-hour journey across Costa Rica to the Osa Peninsula - one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. This marked a milestone moment: the first official expansion of both our Great Sloth Census and the Urban Sloth Project.
In collaboration with Swarovski Optik, we surveyed three sites deep in the primary rainforest and successfully fitted tracking collars on two new sloths. It was an adventure in every sense - torrential rain, plenty of logistical puzzles, and a fair bit of mud, but ultimately a great success.
We are delighted to welcome our newest research recruits: Lesmen, who’s gracing this month’s cover, and Wilberth, the handsome face in the photo.
Diego, Seeds, and Endangered Trees
This month, our Forest Nursery Manager, Diego Elizondo (a member of the Indigenous Bribri community) was awarded a scholarship to attend a specialised training workshop at the prestigious CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center).
The workshop, Propagation Protocol for Threatened Trees, focused on advanced seed reproduction techniques and equipped Diego with new skills to expand our nursery’s impact.
With this knowledge, he can boost seedling production, strengthen our reforestation efforts, and grow more native and endangered trees that we can plant for sloths.
One of these species is especially significant: Guarea talamancana. Only a single known individual of this tree remains - and it happens to grow within our project area!
As one of the most critically endangered tree species in the world, it faces an extremely high risk of extinction without immediate action. For the first time, we will be working to protect and propagate this species through our reforestation and habitat restoration projects.
First Aid in the Field
As you may have guessed, our team has the privilege of working in some of the most remote, wild, and rugged places on the planet. It’s exciting work, but the rainforest comes with its fair share of hidden dangers (and we are a little accident-prone at times).
With health and safety in mind, the entire team completed an intensive wilderness first aid training course this month, led by the Red Cross in the Indigenous town of Bribrí. The training focused on emergency response in forest environments and included everything from snakebites to unexpected childbirths (yes, really), as well as how to manage accidents during fieldwork in remote areas.
After several days of theory and hands-on practice, we are proud to say that every single team member passed the final exam. Congratulations, Team Sloth!
Slothtober Begins: Home Edition!
If you are new to Team Sloth, you might be wondering what Slothtober is. It’s our favourite month of the year - a whole month dedicated to sloths, culminating with International Sloth Day on October 20!
For Slothtober 2025, we have a few special treats in store, including the launch of something very exciting we have been working on behind the scenes. But before we spoil that surprise, we are kicking things off with a campaign close to our hearts: helping Team Sloth build a permanent home in the jungle.
We have been working towards this goal for this for some time, and we are nearly there. Thanks to your support, we have raised $70,000, and now we just need the final $30,000 to push us over the finish line so we can break ground and make this happen in 2026.
Why is this so important?
Right now, our team operates out of rented spaces with rising costs, frequent relocations, and no chance to invest in proper infrastructure. Our forest nursery has moved more times than we can count, our equipment is stored in borrowed sheds, and our programs are constantly reshaped to fit whatever space we can find. This instability slows us down and limits how much we can do for sloths.
With final permits nearly in hand, we are closer than ever to making this dream a reality, and we can’t wait to share the first 3D architectural renderings with you soon!
If you would like to help bring this vision to life, you can make a gift below!
Every contribution brings us one step closer to giving sloths - and Team Sloth - the permanent home they deserve.
Thank You!
Thank you for being part of this journey. Whether through donations, sloth adoptions, or simply reading and sharing our stories, you are making a real difference for sloths and the forests they call home.
And speaking of homes… stay tuned for some very exciting news coming your way soon! Yes, we know we promised this announcement last month and it took us a little longer than expected - but we are the sloth people, after all.
