What a year, huh?! Everything happened in 2023 for the Urban Sloth Project (USP)! We upgraded our technology by saying goodbye to our sloth backpacks and embracing collars with Daily Diaries Data Loggers and GPS trackers.

Habitat surveys are an essential part of the Urban Sloth Project (USP). In these surveys, we make eight squares, each 100 square meters, in the areas where sloths live. We collect GPS locations of the sloths and study the trees in these squares.

The past 12 months have indeed been a rollercoaster – a mix of hard work, intense emotions, and unforeseen challenges. But, with resilience and determination, we’ve tackled each obstacle head-on!

We venture outside to work on our field projects daily, armed with binoculars, necessary equipment, and appropriate clothing (especially during the rainy season).

In the first week of December, we received the visit of our colleagues from Drusillas Park, Tamara and Gemma, who traveled from the UK to Costa Rica to deliver a donation to SloCo, after a fundraiser they held for #InternationalSlothDay back in October.

While strolling back from the beach one afternoon, I noticed a bunch of people standing by the side of the road, their necks craned upwards towards a tree that they were staring at intently. 

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?

Firstly, a heartfelt thank you for joining us in celebrating Slothtober! International Sloth Day was an overwhelming success with the outpouring of loving messages, photos, art, and fundraisers from around the globe!

From Crops to Sloths: The Sweeping Impact of Crazy Ants   Costa Rica has a problem, a crazy ant problem!

On Saturday, 14 October, parts of the western hemisphere, including our little corner of the South Caribbean,  will experience a breathtaking celestial show: an annular solar eclipse.

Next month, we’ll be honoring the slowest mammal on Earth! We are gearing up (at our own un-slothful pace) to celebrate International Sloth Day, which is just three weeks away.

The Maned Sloth, also known as Bradypus torquatus, indigenous to the Atlantic coastal rainforest of Brazil, are threatened by human interference, hunting activities, deforestation, and habitat loss, as well as climate change that affect their behavior.

Our team of researchers spent three days at La Selva Biological Station and Reserve at the end of August. There, they tried downloading the data from the GPS collar we fitted on Misty, George, and Selvina.

We are entering the next phase of the Urban Sloth Project! The aim of the Urban Sloth Project (USP) is to understand how urbanization and habitat disturbance are affecting the lives of sloths and their ecology.

We did it! Our first in-person event in the US was a total success! Over 100 guests enjoyed an afternoon of live music, sloth stories, and conservation adventures.

In a recently published investigation called “Pre–Younger Dryas megafaunal extirpation at Rancho La Brea linked to fire-driven state shift,” Frank O’Keefe from Marshall University and his research team unfold the factors behind the disappearance of enormous prehistoric creatures in Southern California.

“July was my first serious month of volunteering, as I was still learning in June. I enjoyed feeling more confident in my sloth-tracking abilities and becoming more familiar with the area.

Hello, Sloth community! Here in the South Caribbean, we’re at the peak of the rainy season and carry on the projects with our gum boots! Let’s dive into the news!

Luna made an unexpected entrance into the Urban Sloth Project (USP) in March 2021, accompanied by her first baby, Sol.

I hope this newsletter finds you well! As summer arrives in the Northern Hemisphere and the South enjoys winter days, our little corner of Costa Rica is currently experiencing the rainy season.