Us Sloth Sanctuary
This famed sanctuary is a nightmare for animals, two former employees say. The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica is an internationally recognized rescue that says it dedicates itself to saving and rehabilitating lost or injured sloths. This sanctuary is divided into 4 sections. First area is with all these little frogs & I mean little tiny ones that are poisonous. It's a small circular area to view. Then you move into an area where the orchids are grown.
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Your vacation starts in the , where we have chosen the “Don Carlos” Hotel for your first night-stay because of its great location, set in a historic neighborhood close to all of the Main Landmarks of the City (if you would prefer to stay in a different San Jose Hotel, we would be happy to arrange it for you).
On the second day of your vacation we take you to the famous Sloth Sanctuary, featured on the Animal Planet’s TV show “Meet the Sloths”. The drive to get there is very scenic, crossing the impressive “Braulio Carrillo National Park” right after you leave San Jose; the views of jungles and volcanoes from the road (weather permitting) are breathtaking… The drive continues on the Caribbean Plains towards the Port of Limon, the busiest port-city in our country, and then to the South Caribbean Region of Costa Rica where the Sloth Sanctuary is located. Once you arrive to the Sanctuary we take you to do their tour, which includes a full introduction to these wonderful animals, as well as a little canoe ride in which you could see some sloths in the wild and maybe some other animal species.
After your experience with the sloths, your day continues with an authentic Caribbean style lunch, quite unique and different from other dishes served in the rest of Costa Rica. Following we take you to explore Cahuita National Park, one of the gems of our Caribbean Coast. Cahuita is a great mix of the intense nature of our Rainforest and a gorgeous white sand beach; the views of the forest-greenery next to this beach create a very beautiful contrast. Here at Cahuita National Park we do a walk on the main trail and also give you some time for swimming before taking you to your Hotel in the “” area. Over there we have chosen the “Cariblue Resort” mainly because of its great location just steps away from “Cocles Beach”. It is important to understand that even though there are other hotels in this area with better ratings, Cariblue Resort is located right in front the most beautiful beach of the Puerto Viejo Region. The other good hotels are located in beach areas that are nice, but not the best; and could also be located at long walking distances to the beach, making it not too convenient. Other reasons we like Cariblue Resort is because of its grounds, the whole property is like a giant garden, with lots of tall beautiful Rainforest Trees where is common to see wild animals, and thousands of colorful rainforest plants all over the hotel. The swimming pool is nicer than most of the other hotels around; and the rooms are very nice too, not luxurious, but comfortable to enjoy of your Caribbean Vacation.
The following destination of your vacation is Tortuguero, the Most Natural Rainforest Attraction of Costa Rica, which is very unique too, because the only way to get there is by boat through its water canals! Due to this characteristic Tortuguero is known as the “Amazon Jungle of Costa Rica”. We have chosen this destination for this itinerary because the Tortuguero National Park is truly a Paradise for Nature Lovers; we actually consider it as the absolutely Best Place for the Observation of Wildlife in Costa Rica.
On the 4th day of your vacation you travel on a private transport from the Puerto Viejo area to the town of Guapiles, where you would have breakfast and then join the transport provided by “Mawamba Lodge”. We have chosen Mawamba because of its great location, at walking distance to the beach and to the Town of Tortuguero, since most of the hotels in this area are located on the other side of the main canal, which would require boat transportation every time you wish to go to the beach or the town. Once you arrive to Mawamba Lodge you would do the check-in, have lunch and then do a tour at the Town of Tortuguero, where you will learn about the history of this remote area of the country.
On the following day of your vacation you do the Best Tour in Tortuguero, which is a boat excursion on the Canals of the National Park, an incredible place to Observe . These canals are the best representation of the Rainforests of our country, the most dense jungles that you will find here, definitely a place to visit if you like nature stuff. During this tour is very common to see different species of monkeys, like howler, spider and white faced capuchin monkeys. Other animals that are normally seen are sloths, green macaws, iguanas, crocodiles, parrots, parakeets, agoutis, coatimundis and lots of exotic tropical birds. Sometimes if you are lucky enough, other rare animals are seen, such as jaguars, tapirs, ant eaters, etc.
After your amazing Rainforest Tour on the Tortuguero Canals you would go back to the hotel, do the check-out and proceed to go to your San Jose Hotel, where you spend the night before your departing flight on the following day.
As additional information, we have created this itinerary with a time frame of 6 days / 5 nights because not everybody has a long vacation period, but if you would like to spend more days at these destinations or add other destinations to this itinerary, just contact us and we’ll be happy to customized your trip accordingly.
A recent media splash advertising “sloth sleepovers” has drawn our attention to the alleged “Sloth Sanctuary” in Portland, Oregon. While this centre has been on our radar for some time, we are growing incredibly concerned by the threat that this institution poses. The “Zoological Wildlife Conservation Center” promotes itself as a “highly specialized endangered and delicate species Wildlife Conservation Center” which is focused on “captive husbandry research” of sloths. While all of that sounds wonderful on the surface, there are a number of major flaws in their operation.
- Firstly, Oregon seems like a strange place for a sloth ‘sanctuary’. Sloths are only found in the rainforests of Central and South America and there really aren’t many in need of rescue from the concrete streets of Portland. Now the center claims that they work with logging companies in South America and offer an alternative home for the displaced animals. However, there is a glaring problem with that story. If a patch of forest is indeed being cleared, the resident sloths should simply be relocated to a nearby forest reserve. There is absolutely no need, nor excuse, for adult, wild sloths to be exported to the U.S. for any reason. If it is a baby or juvenile sloth that is displaced, it should be transported to a qualified in-country rescue center where a process of hand-rearing and rehabilitation can return the animal to the wild. No sloth retirement home in the U.S. necessary.
- Secondly, this “successful” sloth research center has published a grand total of zero scientific research papers. None. Not a single one. Despite having maintained hundreds of sloths in captivity for almost 30 years for “research purposes”. It is utterly impossible to call yourself a research centre if you are producing no research.
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- We have heard several reports that this organisation actually exports wild-caught sloths in astonishing numbers from countries such as Venezuela and Ecuador where the export laws are slack. In any case, it is well documented that this organisation breeds their sloths on arrival (they brag quite heavily about this on their website). A little bit of detective work on google produces ample evidence which shows the founder of this organisation selling some of the resultant baby sloths into the U.S. pet trade for $4000+. The rest are maintained by the center to supply their “pet a sloth” and “sloth sleepover” schemes which are charged at an eye watering $600. Here at SloCo we are aware of, and are heavily involved with, most of the current sloth conservation efforts occurring across South and Central America. If the money raised by this organisation is going to support any such conservation initiatives then we are yet to hear about it. Perhaps the money is going to fund their sloth research programs?… zero of which have actually contributed anything to the scientific knowledge of these animals.
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Sadly, the center receives great reviews from happy guests who have managed to fulfil lifelong dreams of hanging out with sloths. We are confident that the reviews wouldn’t be quite so glowing if visitors could see the true behind-the-scenes workings. Sloths across South and Central America are suffering in unimaginable numbers due to habitat loss, electrocutions, road collisions, dog attacks, poaching…etc. True rescue centres are voluntarily working tirelessly around the clock to mitigate the impacts of this, often without receiving any government funding. It is somewhat sickening for us to witness such pain first-hand on a daily basis, whilst some institutions are blatantly contributing to the problem by cashing in on the popularity of sloths.
So, what can we do about it?
This is where we need your help. The only way to instigate change in this situation is to raise awareness and share the truth. We urge you to share this post with your friends, family, and anyone that you think may be considering visiting the Zoological Wildlife Conservation Center. We also want to spread the message to media outlets who may have publicised this institution and relevant authorities who are allowing this to continue. Contact details for these people can be found at the end of this post.
It can be disheartening and depressing to discover that people with seemingly good intentions are actually instigators of the problem. This case in particular leaves a bitter taste in our mouths due to the scale of the deception. We promise that we will do everything within our power to prevent this from continuing and we are confident that, with your help, we can put an end to this abhorrent act.
“Never doubt that a small group of concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has” – Margaret Mead
Please share this post with anyone that you think may be interested and email/contact/hound the authorities to investigate. Some suggestions are listed below.
Oregon senators:
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Merkley, Jeff – (D – OR) Class II
313 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-3753
Contact: www.merkley.senate.gov/contact/
Wyden, Ron – (D – OR) Class III
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5244
Contact: www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/
CNN (recently produced this article on the center):
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http://www.cnn.com/feedback/
twitter handles: @CNNMoney @cnn @TeamCNN
email: cnn.feedback@cnn.com
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service:
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https://www.fws.gov/offices/Directory/ListOffices.cfm?statecode=41
Humane Society:
http://www.humanesociety.org/forms/contact_us/wildlife_contact_form.html?credit=web_globalfooter_id85552161?referrer=https://l.facebook.com/
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Yours Sincerely,
Rebecca Cliffe,
Founder and Executive Director