I got to spend time in the sloth garden the other day. It’s an enclosed space with some low hibiscus trees and ropes where the two toed sloths, a bird and the kinkajou can hang out. I needed that. It was a very hot day and I had bird cages in the morning to clean by myself then laundry to do AGAIN. My back was screaming by that time, so it was nice to find myself yawning as these kids slept and crawled around.
Is it obvious yet that I like taking pictures of body parts? They’re so odd looking sometimes and I figure people will never see these things, so I throw them in for good measure. Such fat little toes!! Kinkajou’s are related to the raccoon family. Unfortunately they are hunted for the pet trade and their fur, which is soft and woolly. They mostly eat fruit but like frogs as well. Their tongues are about 5 inches long which aids them in licking nectar from flowers and reaching fruit.
Then I got moved to the smaller sloth area which was good and bad. It was so hot and the sun was shining right on their new structures. I stretched a blanket across it to shade the kids. I had a sloth around my waist in a blanket (sloths like to be warm, but seriously…it was brutal). Luckily Palma and Fernando were staying on the structure for once eating and so was Tyson, who would occasionally bite the babies…arrrgghhhh…such aggression! Fernando has taken a liking to the rope we have strung across the area, cruising fast toward the caiman enclosure. And let me tell you, getting a sloth off of ANYTHING is a serious job, especially when you can’t touch them. We can touch their claws, but they have a super grip. So my bright idea of just sliding him slowly back down the rope didn’t work at all.
Then it was time to clean monkey cages…not my favorite thing to do. The guys there have the best job, getting to stay in the forest with the monkeys all day. Although I’ve heard complaints that it was very tiring because all the monkeys want to do is play. I can sympathize actually, because I turned down being with the monkeys on Friday for that exact same reason.
Very interesting, thanks!
My burning question…why can you only touch sloth claws? I’d think that was a dangerous part to touch. Why is it not allowed to touch the rest of them?
And another question – do many people visit Jaguar Rescue?
How old are these babies?
Ahhh good question. Sloths have very sensitive skin and easily catch whatever bacteria we have. The two babies (Palma and Fernando) both have infections and it’s very itchy for them. Poor kids. All sloths have their own little ecosystem going on with their fur. If you’ve ever seen large ones in the wild they have algae growing on them…and they smell bad. I can usually smell a sloth way up in a tree. They are not used to being around humans so become infected easily. Their nails I guess are ok I guess but we still try to avoid it. It’s so hard to NOT want to touch and cuddle them up close. The claws really aren’t that dangerous…they’re not super sharp like razors or anything. The babies are between 6-12 months old. But nobody really knows for sure, just estimating.
On any given day I’d say we see at least 50 tourists come in (at $15 a pop). We are only open to the public between 9:30-noonish and then closed on Sunday.
OK, they are cool! I think I want one…