I stare at the low chair in my living room, which I would swear on anything you like contained an orange backpack full of specialized sloth tracking equipment the last time I saw it. It is now empty.

December is usually a month where SloCo runs lean and much of our international team travels home to see family for the holidays, working from computers in the UK, Argentina, Germany, and the United States and sending texts across time zones.

Deforestation to make way for cattle farming is a problem growing as exponentially as the human population. Cows make a lot of methane as part of their digestion process, and so instead of forests full of trees making breathable oxygen, you get feedlots full of cattle making greenhouse gasses.

Etymology is the study of words, particularly, the history of words. Thus, the etymology of a word is its origin and developmental history. So what is the etymology of the word sloth? And how does its scientific and common name share the same meaning?

Some experts consider memes an important form of communication. No doubt you also know someone who speaks in memes (millennials, we’re looking at you) and we love memes too!

Well, it’s been a year, hasn’t it? Just when we thought we’d be getting back to normal after 2020, it turns out there is no new normal! If you are still trying to find your footing in this world going forward, know that you are not alone.

It’s the end of the year again—time to reflect, reorganize, and recap the best of 2021. So here are our top 10 blogs, articles, photos, and stories.

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.

What an amazing year we had! When we started this project we had no idea that we’d be installing more than 100 bridges… and in a few weeks, we’ll hit sloth crossing number 150! 

“Dear Santa, This year I have been extremely very mostly good, and for Christmas, I would really like for a sloth to go poop.”

The Urban Sloth Project is our latest scientific research project concerning sloth ecology, studying how habitat urbanization is impacting sloth health and behavior. For the next five years, we’ll be monitoring  32 wild sloths: 16 three-fingered and 16 two-fingered sloths.

Happy December everyone! Wait, how is it December already?The final months of the year sneak up on us here in the South Caribbean. We don’t have the seasonal markers that signal this time of year in temperate climes—there are no autumn leaves, first frosts, or snowfall. We do get extra tourists, choppy seas, and sometimes plagues of various bugs, but that’s not really the same thing.

In this episode of “sloths vs” we are taking a look at another member of the Xenarthra; the anteater. Anteaters are in fact the sloth’s closest living relative, though by “close” we don’t actually mean very close.

The humble sloth vs the mighty jaguar, how do these two mysterious mammals compare?

To measure a species only by the benefit it brings to human civilization is to take a very narrow view of the magnificence of life on Earth. Every organism has an important role to play in its own ecosystem, and if we are humble enough to receive their gifts, sloths have so much to give us.

To expand into new territories and look for mates or food. It isn’t hard to imagine why animals need to move around, but when you work in conservation, the more interesting question is: how?

“Oh great,” says Dr. Cliffe. “I have poop in my boot.”

“Don’t you mean ON your boot?” says Amelia, using a machete to get through a two-meter-long spider web.

“Nope,” says Dr. Cliffe. “It’s dribbled down. And it belongs to someone else.”

Boys and girls of every age, Wouldn’t you like to see something strange? Come with us and you will see, Some weird things out while sloth tracking!

What a wild month we’ve had! We got it through Slothtober with flying colors and even hosted the first-ever International Sloth Festival— if you didn’t manage to join us in person or online, check out our social media for details, pictures, and some great art.