Meet The Sloth Institute Costa Rica
By Deanna Fisher, TSI Marketing Director
You may have noticed the Sloth Mobile or members of Team Sloth around Manuel Antonio and wondered more of our purpose. Founded in 2014, The Sloth Institute Costa Rica (TSI) strives to expand scientific knowledge and education about the charismatic sloth species found in Costa Rica. The goal: to enhance sloths well-being and assure their conservation around the globe.
Utilizing the skills and passion of Team Sloth members has provided TSI the opportunity to expand our goals and vision with other like-minded institutions dedicated to preserving sloth’s place in the wild.
TSI’s ongoing dedication to research, specializing in the behavior, health and welfare of recently released, wild and captive sloths, has allowed for increased understanding of proper care and conservation needs of the species. With this new knowledge and successful reintroductions via Saving Sloths Together with Toucan Rescue Ranch, TSI continues to work to shift previous belief that hand-raised and captive sloths could not flourish in the wild. With every new release, we are confident in our belief that together, we can save sloths.
SLOTH SPOTLIGHT: Rihanna
We first met Rihanna after receiving a call from a concerned tourist about a fallen sloth near the beach. Team Sloth only had a rough phone description of the location where she was seen and spent almost two hours searching for her in the dark! Luckily with perseverance, we found Rihanna, an adult Hoffmann’s two-fingered sloth.
She was at the bottom of a tree with a broken arm and leg. Badly injured, we quickly attended to her immediate needs and brought her to our partners at Toucan Rescue Ranch (TRR). While at TRR, Rihanna had extensive surgery to mend her broken limbs to help them heal properly. After her bones had healed, she went through specialized physical therapy to help rebuild her muscles.
Now we are proud to announce she has been released and are confident she will continue to be a queen in the forest! #BornToBeWild
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
If you see a sloth who needs help, don’t wait! Call the Sloth Response Team at +506 8675-2539
To donate to Saving Sloths Together visit Razoo.com/story/Savingslothstogether or tsi.charity.org
Let’s be social! Follow us for more sloth stories @TheSlothInstitute.