The next sanctuary that I would like to highlight is Toucan Rescue Ranch. This sanctuary is located just outside of San Jose, Costa Rica, and the difference that they are making is noticeable and outstanding.
This sanctuary originally started as a toucan rescue only (hence their name), but received their first sloth, Millie, almost a decade ago! Just like with the majority of other ethical and reputable sanctuaries, Toucan Rescue Ranch rehabilitates, and when possible releases animals in their care, back into the wild. In addition to toucans and sloths, this sanctuary also takes in monkeys, birds, and even has a sweet otter, named Emma!
Tours:
Due to the pandemic, they have had to shut down their sanctuary for outside tours. Side note: One of their tours is even called Slothies and Coffees (which we are actually signed up to go on in February!), where you get to the sanctuary (located on a ranch) in the morning and get to sample coffee from one of their partners: Cafe Britt (a coffee farm located in Costa Rica), get to eat delicious pastries, and then tour the sanctuary. This is a focused tour that emphasizes learning about the educational and conservation efforts that go into taking care of orphaned and injured sloths. Since the in person tours cannot happen currently, they have switched over to virtual tours every Saturday. My husband and I did one, and let me tell you, it was so educational and seeing the various animals just drapes you in a blanket of comfortability.
-A fun story regarding out tour: David and I took our virtual tour back in April, right after the lock down was put into place. I normally work from home, but my husband was also working from home, so it was just weird not interacting with and seeing people constantly. The tour we took started at 10 AM Costa Rican time. Thanks to Google (sarcasm), I was under the impression that 10 AM Costa Rican time is in the same time zone as Wisconsin (CDT). What we, along with the 10 other people on our tour, didn't realize is that Costa Rica does not participate in daylight savings time. Which looking back on it, I don't know how we didn't realize this, because A DUH, daylight savings time is an American thing. We all arrived on Zoom an hour early, and we just hung out and got to know one another waiting for the tour to begin. It was such a unique experience, being in a lock down, and then interacting with strangers and just getting to know their stories, where they were from, and gain a connection. It was clear that we were all seeking human interaction, as being put into isolation is something we had to get used to. So not only did we make friends (one of the families is actually from where David's grandparents lived!), but we also got to go on a very inspirational tour.
Sloth Ironman Games:
Another fun and interesting event that Toucan Rescue Ranch hosts is something called the Sloth Ironman Games. International Sloth Day falls on October 20th each year. A week leading up to International Sloth Day, four "competitors" (Spoiler: They are four chosen sloths that reside at the sanctuary) compete in games that are natural to a sloth's day to day activities. The winner of these games are chosen based on the fastest they can accomplish something, but also points are earned through donations from people. When you donate during the games, you write the name of the sloth you hope to win, and each $1 = 1 point toward that sloth.
As I mentioned earlier, there are NO human interactions or stressors for the sloths, as they participate in these games. Each of the four activities are natural occurrences that the sloths would do on a day to day basis.
-Challenge one is the 1 meter dash, where the sloths go on their climbing branch/rope, used for exercise, and whoever reaches the other end of their climbing rope, in the fastest time wins. Note: Sometimes the sloth just sits still, or goes the opposite way, and you cannot help but find yourself laughing out loud!
-Challenge two consists of the hibiscus eat off. Sloths love hibiscus! It is a treat for them (sloths to hibiscus is like humans to chocolate). Each sloth is given a hibiscus flower and whoever eats their hibiscus the quickest wins.
-Challenge three is the strong man challenge. A bucket is placed underneath a branch (this is normally done for encouragement to get the sloths to practice climbing). The sloth that pulls itself up onto the branch the fastest wins.
-The last challenge is the poop off hahah. In the wild, sloths descend from the treetops once every 7 days to do their business. In rehab and at the sanctuary, in order to prepare sloths for their return to the wild, they must be taught wild sloth behaviors, including pooping once a week. Each sloth does a "poop pole dance", though scientists are unsure as to why. They go to the bathroom at the base of a tree (which actually is the time they are most vulnerable, as predators can come and attack while they are on the ground). Regarding this current challenge, the sloth is placed at the base of the tree and encouraged to poop. Half the times they don't even go, but it is adorable to watch.
At the end of the challenges, the winner gets a HUGE bouquet of hibiscus surrounding them. When you see that image and the happiness of the sloth, your heart will just burst with happiness.
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