I think it's safe to say that this has been the most emotional, exhausting, exciting, and completely surreal SLOTHtober we've ever had!
Between three days of celebrations here in Costa Rica, a rather important trip to Florida and a very unexpected personal honour, Slothtober has been a whirlwind. We have a lot to share with you, so let's dive straight in!
The SLOTHS Act is here!!!
For years, one of the most frustrating parts of our work has been watching wild sloths being captured from the rainforest, transported thousands of miles, and sold into the United States. As a relatively small conservation organisation working in Costa Rica, we often felt powerless to do anything about it. We could raise awareness, publish research, and explain why sloths belong in the wild, but actually changing the laws that allowed this industry to exist felt like a very distant dream.
But after years of feeling that this was a problem too big for us to tackle, this year we found ourselves finally standing alongside the people who could help change the law. And now, H.R. 10867, the SLOTHS Act, has officially been introduced into Congress. If passed, it will permanently ban the importation of sloths into the United States. It wouldn't solve every problem facing sloths, but it would close off a major market for animals taken from the wild.
Of course, getting a bill introduced is only the beginning and now we have to get it passed! If you live in the United States, please take two minutes to contact your representatives in Congress and ask them to support H.R. 10867. We've made it easy to find your representatives and learn how to get involved on our website.
After everything it took to get here, we really don't want to stop now!
Three days of sloths, science and celebrations!
Our 3rd International Sloth Festival took over the South Caribbean of Costa Rica for three days of workshops, science, art, music, activities, and community celebrations! It was wonderful to see so many people coming together to celebrate Costa Rica’s most beloved and peaceful neighbours.
The festival has always been about much more than sloths. It's about the people who share their home with wildlife, the local organisations doing incredible work, and the community that makes conservation possible in the first place.
Our Community Conservation Coordinator, Gloriana, has written a lovely account of the three days, so I'll let her tell you all about it!
Meanwhile, back in the jungle...
Of course, while all of this was happening, the rest of Team Sloth somehow managed to keep our usual conservation and research work moving along too! This month, we said goodbye to one of our longest-running Urban Sloth Project residents: Pistachio, our beloved coffee shop sloth. After 22 months of tracking his movements, recording his behaviour and collecting thousands of data points, we finally removed his collar and sent him off into retirement from the research project.
Meanwhile, after several unsuccessful attempts, our research team finally managed to find Flash and replace his tracking collar. His old collar had stopped transmitting, so finding him again was becoming something of a treasure hunt.
Our Connected Gardens team also joined forces with other local organisations to plant more than 150 native trees along the coast, helping restore and reconnect important wildlife habitat.
And the community celebrations aren't quite finished yet! We're also taking part in the Manatee Festival in neighbouring Manzanillo, another lovely opportunity to celebrate the incredible wildlife we share this little corner of Costa Rica with.
A new way to follow our sloths!
We also have something rather exciting for our Sloth Fellowship members this month! We've launched a brand-new interactive sloth tracking map, allowing Fellows to follow ALL the sloths we're currently monitoring through the Urban Sloth Project!
Through the exclusive Fellowship Portal, members can explore the map, follow the sloths we're studying and read regular updates about what they've been getting up to. For $25 a month, you can become part of the Sloth Fellowship, helping fund our research, conservation and advocacy work while getting a rather unusual window into the lives of wild sloths.
It's probably the closest you can get to joining our research team without having to spend several hours staring up into a rainforest canopy!
A rather unexpected honour!
And finally, I have some personal news that I'm very excited (and still slightly overwhelmed!) to share.
I've been nominated for the 2027 Indianapolis Prize Emerging Conservationist Award, which recognises conservationists working to protect threatened wildlife around the world. It's an enormous honour, and one that has made me think quite a lot about how this whole journey began.
18 years ago I arrived in Costa Rica as a budding biologist with a head full of questions and not much else. I still remember organising my very first fundraiser to buy the tracking equipment I needed to begin studying wild sloths. At the time, I had no idea whether anyone would be interested in supporting a young researcher who wanted to spend her days following animals that barely seemed to move.
But people did. Friends, family and complete strangers believed in what I was trying to do. They helped me buy those first tracking devices, and those little pieces of equipment opened the door to everything that followed. Without that support, I don't know where I'd be today.
So although this nomination has my name on it, I really see it as recognition of everyone who has helped make this work possible. From those very first supporters to the wonderful team I now have the privilege of working alongside every day, and all of you who continue to believe that wild sloths are worth protecting. I couldn't be more grateful!
Thank you
Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned over all these years is that conservation is never something you achieve alone. It takes scientists, local communities, volunteers, funders, collaborations, policymakers, donors, and people who simply care enough to get involved. This whole month has been a powerful reminder of what can happen when all those people come together.
So thank you - whether you've supported us from the very beginning or only discovered our work this SLOTHtober, you've helped make all of this possible. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, particularly with the SLOTHS Act, but for now I hope you'll take a moment to celebrate just how far we've come.
Here's to the sloths, and to keeping them wild and free!
All the best from the jungle (where sloths belong!),
