August 2025 | Tales From the Jungle
Let’s start with the good news – we’ve officially survived the rainy season here on the Caribbean coast! It’s been a wild one, with endless storms, flooded trails, and plenty of wet socks, but we clung on (and so did the sloths). Now, let’s dive into what Team Sloth has been up to this month in our never-ending mission to make the world a safer place for sloths.
The Great Sloth Census Heads to the Osa Peninsula
This month, our research team packed their gear, laced up their boots, and headed off to one of the most extraordinary places in Costa Rica — the Osa Peninsula. This tiny region holds an estimated 5% of all species on the planet. It’s a biodiversity paradise… yet strangely, sloths are surprisingly hard to find there.
Why? That’s exactly what we’re trying to figure out. Could it be that the rainforest is so healthy and full of predators that fewer sloths survive here? Or is the forest so dense and thriving that sloths are simply masters of disguise? Or maybe they’re just not there in the numbers we’re used to seeing in the Caribbean.
We’ve spent years working toward this moment – the world’s first-ever nationwide sloth census. After 12 months perfecting our methods on the Caribbean coast, we’re finally expanding. We’ve partnered with Swarovski Optik, who have a stunning protected reserve in Osa where we’ll be collecting data and, fingers crossed, fitting some new GPS collars on sloths there, too.
Right now, the team is nine hours away on the other side of the country, deep in pristine rainforest with no cell service. We’ll have updates as soon as they’re back… trust us, we’re just as excited as you to see what they find!
Connected Gardens Keeps on Growing
August was a busy planting month! We planted 116 new trees within our Connected Gardens network, plus another 145 trees in collaboration with ADITICA — the Development Association of the Cabécar Indigenous Territory.
We are very proud to be able to partner with organisations like ADITICA – they are working tirelessly to support cultural, economic, and environmental initiatives in Indigenous communities. Reforestation and sustainable agriculture are at the heart of their work, and we are excited to be building long-term alliances rooted in conservation and community.
In Case You Missed It: From a parking lot to a little forest
When we started the Connected Gardens project, it was with the simple idea that any property can become a haven for wildlife – and this story demonstrates that perfectly. What was once a barren gravel parking has been transformed into a thriving little forest. Today, sloths, monkeys, and birds are back home where they belong.
Hello, World!
Connected Gardens Project | August Update
The Eternal Sloths
If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that sloths take an eternity to do anything – and figuring them out takes just as long. One of the biggest mysteries is how long wild sloths actually live for. No one knows!
So, we’re on a mission to find out. Right now, we’re closely monitoring three special “Eternal Sloths” (soon to be four!), and yes… You can adopt them.
Speaking of which, we have something big coming soon for all our sloth adopters – a whole new adoption system designed to make your updates even better. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Meanwhile, here are some highlights from the field our sloth adopters got this week:
Luiza is going through a quiet, mysterious phase (we’re watching closely 👀).
Deborah is back to enjoying her independence – and continuing to break all the rules of sloth science.
Tender is venturing into new territory, possibly learning from his mom, Tiki.
And speaking of Tiki and Tender, here’s a lovely moment from this month:
Tender using the Sloth Crossing canopy bridge SC-122, just seconds after a troop of howler monkeys crossed it.
Ten minutes later, Tiki crossed the same bridge with a brand-new baby on her belly (that’s three sloth generations all using the bridge at the same time)!
if you haven’t adopted a sloth yet… what are you waiting for?
What Went Wrong | Fieldwork Never Goes Perfectly
This month, we avoided any more car accidents (a win!)… but we hit a different kind of bump. We finally managed to replace Deborah’s collar and retrieved her old one — only to discover that the data logger was completely empty. Months of “tracking”… with nothing recorded. Oops! The good news? Her new collar is up and running!
Thank You!
Thank you, as always, for being part of this journey. Your support fuels every collar, every tree, every bridge, and every story we share.
We have some big announcements coming up soon, but we’ll save those for the next month!
Together, we’re making a difference – slowly, steadily, and for the sloths. 💚
See you next month,
