Volunteer With Sloths
Famous the world over for their sluggish nature and comical facial expressions, sloths are revered amongst animal enthusiasts. These slow-moving creatures are coming under increasing pressure in their natural rainforest homes due to rapid deforestation, resulting in a loss of habitat and enhanced exposure to predators and poachers. Unless something changes soon, sloth numbers will continue to fall. It is for this reason that a project where you volunteer with sloths could be a vital and rewarding way to spend your holiday!
Sloths are herbivorous mammals that have been living in the forests of the Americas for over 60 million years, and here at The Great Projects, we can offer you the chance to volunteer at a rescue and rehabilitation centre deep in the Costa Rican jungle where you can aid in vital sloth conservation. Thanks to social media, many people would have seen the despicable ways in which sloths are snatched from their jungle homes, shoved into bags and forced to be handled by humans, all for the purpose of a 'selfie', something which causes the creatures great distress. These images circulate online, making people want them as pets, to cuddle with them, not realising that doing these things is hugely detrimental to the survival of the species.
By volunteering with sloths, you can help to safeguard this adorable species, working to protect their rainforest homes, and assisting with rehabilitating them so they can be released into the wild wherever possible. So what are you waiting for? Join a program to volunteer with sloths today!
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Traveller rating:
14 - 28 Nights from $1,182.00
Volunteer with some incredible wildlife in the stunning tropical rainforests of Costa Rica!
Sloths At A Glance
ENDANGERED STATUS
Not Endangered/Endangered
NUMBER REMAINING IN THE WILD
Dependent On Species
ENDEMIC REGION
The Americas
How Endangered Are Sloths?
There are two different types of sloth and six different species. Of those, the pygmy sloth is critically endangered and the maned sloth is vulnerable. The other species are all classed as of least concern, but unless action is taken sooner rather than later this could change as deforestation continues to accelerate in the regions within which the sloths live.
Pygmy sloth numbers are thought to be as low as 100 and this is an indication of what could happen to the other species if action is not taken now. So volunteer with sloths and you could make a change.
Threats Sloths Are Facing
The health of the world’s sloth population is entirely dependent on the health of the world’s rainforests and this symbiotic relationship could prove disastrous to the sloths if deforestation continues at its current rates.
Sloths need forests full of trees to survive, and without them they become exposed to the forest floor where they are vulnerable to the many predators that share the forests with them. Sloths are defenceless to fend off predators when this happens, and that is why trees are so crucial to their survival.
Volunteer with sloths, and you could be helping to restore rainforests too.
Fast Facts
- Even though the two different types of sloths are named the two-toed sloth and three toed sloth, they all actually have three toes! Their names are actually in reference to the claws on their front limbs!
- We all know sloths move very slowly, but did you know that on land they move at just 2 meters per minute? They are slightly faster up in the trees where they can move at 3 meters a minute!
- Sloths have very long tongues, and some can stretch up to 10-12 inches out of their mouths!
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