Costa Rica is one of the most eco friendly places in the world, with many places to preserve and protect their endangered species, and, if you want to be apart of this movement, one of the best things to do there is to make a trip to their Sloth Sanctuary!!
The objectives of the sanctuary involve the rescue and rehabilitate sloths that are referred to the Sanctuary, improving their welfare and quality of life; Study and understand sloth behavior, lifestyle, physiology and pathology through research and the exchange of information; Promote respect for sloths and educate the public about their importance to the environment and stimulate scientific and social interest in sloths with the support
of those organizations involved in and responsible for environmental
protection.
Founders Judy Avey-Arroyo and Luis Arroyo originally purchased the 320
acre (129 hectare) lowland rainforest reserve to operate birding tours
on the Estrella River. In 1991, when a devastating 7.7 earthquake
completely changed the river’s course, the couple closed their bird
tour business and decided to build a small hotel on the land instead. A
year later, some neighborhood girls asked them to look after an orphaned
baby sloth; as animal lovers, they agreed and the sanctuary was born!!
How to visit:
It's almost a 4h30 drive from San José, the nearest town would be Cahuita, and it will cost around 30$ for an adult (2 hours tour time). You can choose other tours where you meet baby sloths and it's 1 more hour, really inside the feeding and care of the sloths, that would cost around 150$. They are closed on mondays and christmas and they open from 8am - 2pm on the rest of the days. There's no availability to volunteer there.
Please note that you cannot pet, touch or hold sloths in Costa Rica. No “sanctuary” should allow you to do this as it is extremely bad for the sloth's health since they get very stressed out and humans can transmit bacteria and other harmful things. Also: Stay away from roadside scammers who let tourists hold a sloth for
a photo. They simply knock a baby sloth out of a tree, exploit it for
quick money, then abandon the animal and allow it to die from
malnutrition. When the next tourist comes along who wants to hold a
sloth for a photo, they repeat this inhumane practice. If you see
someone doing this, we ask that you take a photo of the person and call
9-1-1 to report them.
For maps, payements and other informations, just go here:
Happy journeys in Costa Rica!
