I think the last two weeks can be summed up with a quick:
ZOMG, SLOTHS!
Sadly, I was unable to smuggle a sloth home (oh, how I tried!) but I believe I snapped enough photos to last me a sloth lifetime. Fun fact: no one knows the average lifespan of a sloth! (There hasn't been enough research done.) Perhaps in a few years I shall return to Costa Rica not as a tourist or a volunteer but as an Official Sloth Researcher. That would be pretty rad, no?
Anyway, volunteering at the Sloth Sanctuary was a super cool experience (much, much thanks to my husband for taking me!), and I learned some interesting facts about these two- and three-fingered creatures. Mind if I shared a few?
1. All sloths have three toes!
The Sanctuary staff referred to sloths as "two-fingered" or "three-fingered," rather than "two-toed" or "three-toed." See, every sloth species possess three toes on their feet, but certain species have two fingers on their "hands" while others have three.
2. Sloths have dandruff!
Indeed, the sloths could use some Head & Shoulders! Twice a day, we'd sweep their sleeping/eating platforms because they would accumulate food crumbs and dandruff. Still, sloths are very clean animals! The babies would receive regular baths (which they kind of hated).
3. Sloths are built tough!
Sloths may have a reputation for being slow and sleepy, but they are tough little buggers. For instance, there was a three-fingered sloth at the Sanctuary named Toyota. A few months ago, Toyota was brought to the Sanctuary in dire condition: he had been electrocuted by a power line and had lied helpless on the ground for three weeks. Even worse, his arm was exposed to the bone--and had been pecked at by vultures! (Excuse me while I vomit my lunch....)
But Toyota pulled through it! The medical staff amputated his arm and, within minutes from his surgery, he was munching on leaves. Now, Toyota resides in the Sanctuary's exhibition area where he sleeps and poos and eats all day.
Well, I could probably yammer on and on about sloths for hours if you let me, but I shall refrain from doing so! Without further adieu, here are a few pictures I snapped with my DSLR. Enjoy!
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| {This is baby Linus, my favorite sloth ever. He loved being held!} |
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| {Baby Snickers. He only looks sweet when he's sleeping...} |
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| {One of my Snickers' favorite pastimes is biting and hissing at his friends. Ornery!} |
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| {Justin with Sylvana.} |
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| {I rented my first telephoto lens for this trip, which meant I became a crazy bird lady.} |
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| {My mother-in-law came on the trip too. 12 days and I didn't strangle her. Success!} |
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| {A sleeping sloth. Her pen was adjacent to Snickers', so he'd try to bite her too.} |
Whew! Are you slothed-out yet? If you aren't, be sure to check back soon because I hope to post a few videos that Justin and I took. (We're sloth obsessed! Don't judge us!) Justin took a very aw-worthy clip of a mother sloth and her baby. Until then, I think I'm going to look up flights back to Costa Rica... :)
