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The Sloth Journals
Bowie, Male Two-Fingered Sloth Age: At least 9-monthsPlace of Origin: SarapiquíCurrent Weight: 1.2 kgNickname: BowieSpecial Abilities: Snuggling with Latte As one of the younger sloths, Bowie seeks comfort from the snuggly warmth of Latte, with whom he is almost always cuddling. Like Ringo, Bowie enjoys hitching a ride on Latte during her occasional romps on the climbing frame- sometimes even double-teaming the poor surrogate mother with their combined weight. Curious in nature, Bowie enjoys grabbing onto his unsuspecting caretakers while delivering his signature “blank stare”. Previously, Bowie had a fairly aggressive temperament and would approach innocent bystanders with a swipe, a hiss or a bite. Once removed from the rest of the gang however, Bowie will whine and pout until he is reunited with mommy. Thankfully, Bowie’s tough-guy façade seems to have come to an end (possibly after Latte had a talk with him about loving your neighbor). Since then, Bowie keeps his feisty habits to a minimum but will still complain if separated from the coziness of the chairs. Happy #SlothSunday and you can symbolically adopt your favorite sloth by visiting our Adoption Program! By intern Mitch Deskovick
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The Sloth Journals
Chispa, Female Two-Fingered Sloth Age: 1-year, 3-monthsPlace of Origin: TortugueroCurrent Weight: 1.4 kg Nickname: Cheese PuffSpecial Talents: Sticking her tongue out and perhaps teleportation The only girl of the high school kids, Chispa (and definitely not Cheese Puff, as some people have confused her name for) sticks out among the babies with her… tongue, which can often be seen poking out of her ever-so-slightly agape mouth. Perhaps Chispa’s most noticeable facial feature, however, is her left eye, which is almost completely shut. After her mother fell out of a tree and landed on concrete, Chispa sustained a blinding eye injury. Despite this handicap, Chispa is one of the most independent sloths of the bunch. As a silent underdog of sorts, Chispa often picks off food that the other babies are yet to notice, and has occasionally been seen sleeping alone hanging upside down a lá wild sloth. Chispa has also gotten into her share of precarious situations. One day, Chispa was found clinging onto a light fixture high up on the ceiling of Leslie’s porch all by her lonesome. It’s likely that she climbed from the safety of the sloth rocking chairs and made her way up to the ceiling using a variety of objects (ropes stretching across the porch, a broom leaning against a pillar, low hanging cables, etc.). This goes to show that despite whatever handicap an animal patient at the Ranch may have, they still have a chance at release into the wild, and Chispa has proven to be no exception. There is also the slim possibility that Chispa is secretly capable of teleportation, though this is yet to be witnessed firsthand. Happy #SlothSunday! By intern and sloth nanny Mitch Deskovick | You can read more about TRR updates on our newsletter!
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A Sloth in Heat
Female three-fingered sloths come into estrous, or heat, multiple times a year and boy, do they like to scream about it! When a female sloth is "in heat" and ready to breed she doesn't wait for the males to come to her, she actively encourages them with high-pitched screams. The males will then follow the sound of the screams until he finds her. However, if multiple suitors find her, they may fight each other until the strongest male wins the right to mate. Once decided, the female will let the male approach. In a matter of minutes, intercourse is finished. In some cases, a pair has been found to stay together in the same tree for a few days, sometimes mating again. In others, the male has left shortly after fulfilling his role. Both genders are promiscuous and are likely to mate again. The female three-fingered sloth's pregnancy will last 6-7 months (for two-fingered it is 10-11 months!) and typically only one baby is born, although on some occasions, twins have been reported. Not a lot is known about the courting and reproduction of sloths as it has only been recorded on rare occasions. Recently, our resident three-fingered sloth, Bella, was in heat and we were lucky enough to witness her mating calls, although we're not sure the neighbors would share the sentiment. By former intern Katie Grant | Read more articles like this one by subscribing to our newsletter!
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The Sloth Journals
Ringo, Male Two-Fingered Sloth Age: At least 7 monthsCurrent Weight: 1.1 kgPlace of Origin: PuriscalNicknames: Sonic, Wristwatch, SnifflesSpecial Talents: Clinging to his caretakers, casually doing the splits Ringo is one of the youngest sloths in the high school group. He frequently hangs on to Latte while happily watching over the other sloths as she navigates through the climbing frame. As a youngster, Ringo used to be scared of everything, nervously sniffling when isolated from his larger friends or when being picked up by one of the nannies. In fact, Ringo’s caretakers can attach him onto any part of their body and walk around as if baby sloths were the latest fashion accessory. Now, Ringo’s caretakers speculate that he may be going through sloth puberty. Ringo seems to regularly pick fights with the other sloth kids on the chairs, biting whoever dares to wake him up or steal his spot on Latte. Ringo may not be the biggest of the high school kids, but his resemblance to a hedgehog could land him a gig digging around in soil looking for earthworms. You can symbolically adopt Ringo and his pals by visiting our Adoption Program! Happy #SlothSunday! By intern Ana Maria
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Emma’s New Playground
Do you remember when we were fundraising for Emma the Otter? We had big dreams to build her a large otter habitat where she could swim, fish and run. Well, thanks to many generous donations, we finally have an otter aquarium right in the heart of the Toucan Rescue Ranch. All the staff and volunteers have been patiently waiting as construction started in early February. Now the pool is in its last stages before Emma will be able to go otterly crazy in her new home! The Toucan Rescue Ranch hopes that one day other otters who need rescue can join Emma in her habitat. Not only does she have more space, but she now will have the opportunity to receive more enrichment such as live fish to hunt and eat! We would like to thank all of those who donated, shared and supported Emma as we raised funds for her new home. Projects like this wouldn’t be possible without the continuous support of people like you. You can view Emma's crowdfunding campaign here! For more updates about Emma, follow our Facebook page!
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