Nature: Understanding Sloths - Conservation Through Research and Tracking by Elly King

by Elly King, Fieldwork Coordinator and Educator 

The Sloth Institute was founded with a clear purpose: to deepen our understanding of both wild and captive sloths, safeguarding their welfare and ensuring their long-term conservation. Early on, our team ventured deep into the rainforest to study sloths in their natural environment. We tracked their movements, recorded diets, observed behaviour, and documented how they lived - gathering baseline data to define what ‘normal’ sloth life is.

Injured, Orphaned and Displaced

Alongside this, we began rehabilitating injured, orphaned, and displaced sloths - knowing from the start that releasing them without follow-up wasn’t enough. To monitor progress, we fitted each with tracking collars after release. This unique, integrated approach was the first of its kind, allowing us to systematically study how rehabilitated sloths adapt back into the rainforest.

Today, that combined model remains the foundation of our work. 

Many released sloths are tracked via VHF radio telemetry, enabling us to observe behaviour in real time. Compared with wild sloths, results consistently show that properly prepared rehabilitated sloths behave just like their wild counterparts - climbing, feeding, resting, and navigating their environment with the same instincts. This confirms rehabilitation can lead to full reintegration back into the wild!

Early Stages

However, even with all we’ve learnt, sloth research is still in its early stages. We don’t yet know how long sloths live in the wild, their true population sizes, or the full extent of their social behaviours. These questions guide the next phase of our work, from studying genetic diversity to understanding how sloths adapt to a rapidly changing world.

Human impact and urbanisation are dramatically reshaping sloth habitats. One of our key research areas is how sloths manage to survive in fragmented landscapes, where patches of natural forest are interspersed with farmland, roads, and urban development. In these disrupted habitats, we’ve found sloth populations at unexpectedly high densities, sometimes double what we’d see in undisturbed rainforest. This insight helps us evaluate habitat quality and the mounting pressures sloths face as their environment becomes increasingly divided by human activity.

Understanding Diet

Additionally, we’re expanding our understanding of sloth diet and foraging. By identifying preferred tree species and how seasonal changes affect choices, we can improve reforestation and release site planning  helping sloths access the resources they need to thrive. Alongside this, we’re studying emerging diseases like leishmania, found in Brazilian sloths, investigating possible transmission between  domestic animals and wild sloths and what makes them vulnerable to illness. This work is vital for better health  management and conservation.

What began as a mission to understand wild sloths has grown into a comprehensive conservation programme that we’re incredibly proud of. Today, our research  supports rescue centres, shapes best practices, and most importantly, helps more sloths return to the rainforest… where they belong!

The Sloth Institute, located in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, focuses on enhancing the welfare and conservation of sloths through the rescue, rehabilitation and release of hand-raised and injured sloths.  While also conducting vital research, conservation and education programs to ensure their survival. To learn more and donate please visit: https://www.theslothinstitute.org/