A lot of animals come and go from the Toucan Rescue Ranch (TRR), some leave a mark more than others, some you will remember for the rest of your life. Hester the two-fingered sloth is definitely one of the animals I will never forget, especially because of her story and the impact she had on me.
Hester Shaw was a two-fingered sloth that arrived in August 2021 due to severe electrocution (one of the worst cases I’ve seen). I remember when I first saw her in the clinic, I thought to myself that she looked like a “Zombie Sloth” due to her injuries – she had so many wounds all around her body, her eyes were foggy (with ulcers), and even had a hole on her lower jaw, where the electricity exited her body. Honestly, I am still surprised that she had survived up to that point. I know that she had the best possible care, and I know because I saw the dedication of the Vet Team, keeping her alive every day.
At TRR we receive animals that get electrocuted, attacked by dogs, ran over by cars. Sadly some survive and others die due to their injuries. Coincidently, humans are the ones to blame!
If we isolated the wires and powerlines, if we were responsible with our pets and kept them inside, if we drove carefully maybe, just maybe, rescue centers wouldn’t receive so many injured animals. It is when we make small changes in our day-to-day lives that will hopefully provide a greater positive impact on the animals that we rescue.
With Hester’s story, I was taught how if people really do care, changes can happen. I was inspired by her story, and it’s one that I like to tell people during educational tours of Toucan Rescue Ranch.
A component of my job is to answer the phone. A lot of the time it’s clients inquiring about how to visit, but sometimes it’s about an animal emergency. In a lot of cases, I forget each call, but this one, I still have it in my mind and it gives me hope: I answer the phone and it’s a man asking about a sloth we recently received and he wanted to know how it was doing (we had received two electrocuted sloths on the same week). I start by asking for more information about the delivery, but he didn’t know as it was MINAE who brought us the animals, not him.
This man saw the electrocution as it happened on his property, and he was the one who called for help. He was worried about the sloth that had been living on his property. After trying to figure out that it was indeed Hester, I start giving him an update of his reserved prognosis. He starts telling me that after what had happened, he started talking to the electrical company in San Ramón so they could insulate the wires and install wildlife bridges, so none of this would happen again. To protect Hester’s baby that was living on his property, who was old enough to be alone. He felt somewhat responsible for the incident. And not only that, but he wanted Hester to come back if she healed and if it was possible to rewild her!
This small action brought a lot of hope just knowing that someone cares and wanted to do the right thing. I told the Vet Team, and it was agreed that, if she would indeed make it, she could go to the property again. Unfortunately, as it’s common with electrocuted animals, her internal damage was severe, and she lost her battle to infection and organ damage. I knew she had a long way to recovery and that her prognosis was reserved, but time and time again, her story kept bringing me hope. We did a fundraising campaign for Hester on our CUDDLY page, so we could fund treatments and medical supplies to attend her, and not only did we meet our goal, but our amazing supporters went above and beyond!
A couple of days ago as I was writing this, I got a call from the same person, and he started asking about Hester as he’d seen her baby the day before and felt nostalgic. After I told him that we had unfortunately lost her, he thanked us for our work and dedication and explained to me that the electrical company had gone there and installed some barriers on the posts. This was to prevent animals from climbing up to the powerlines. However, he still had no word on the wildlife bridge and every time he asked about it, they’d say that it was on hold and in process. Hopefully, it will be installed soon, so that other animals can also benefit from it.
A couple of days ago as I was writing this, I got a call from the same person, and he started asking about Hester as he’d seen her baby the day before and felt nostalgic. After I told him that we had unfortunately lost her, he thanked us for our work and dedication and explained to me that the electrical company had gone there and installed some barriers on the posts. This was to prevent animals from climbing up to the powerlines. However, he still had no word on the wildlife bridge and every time he asked about it, they’d say that it was on hold and in process. Hopefully, it will be installed soon, so that other animals can also benefit from it.
I know that every person that brings an animal here wants to create change, and wants to help animals in different ways, but I hope that with Hester’s story, more people want to be involved and help not only sloths but every animal!
This blog was written by our Tour Coordinator Andrea Quirós Varga. She studied Management of Natural Resources in the Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED) in Costa Rica and is currently finishing her bachelor’s degree on the same career, currently finishing her thesis on Management Protocols for Captive Wildlife on Santuario de Lapas Natuwa, another sanctuary located in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. She started working at Toucan Rescue Ranch as an on-call guide in October 2020. She has always wanted to work with wild animals both in situ or ex-situ and loves educating people about the animals at the Ranch telling their stories, biology of the species, threats, and how people can contribute to their conservation.
