A Peek Into Sloth Data
Last week, we went to the primary forests in search of new sloths to collar and monitor for the Urban Sloth Project. To understand how urbanization and habitat disturbance affect the behavior and activity of sloths, it’s necessary to study and compare the urban sloths with sloths that live in healthy environments, like untouched primary forests.
Meet Pipa, a sloth from a primary forest
After many hours of walking through the dense forest, dealing with allergic reactions to plants, and Jose almost stepping on one of the most venomous snakes in the country, we finally found little Pipa, a juvenile two-fingered sloth.
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Pipa is not the first sloth we collared from a primary forest. We started this stage of the research with George, Misty, and Selvina, sloths from La Selva Biological Station and Reserve. But collaring sloths, whether in urban areas or pristine forests, and following them is just the first step in this research.
Analyzing Data and Seeing Patterns in Colorful Graphics
The collars have data loggers attached; little devices that collect millions of data points, and when multiplied by all the sloths in the study, the volume of information becomes massive. Billions of data points. Analyzing data from the data loggers requires skill and specialized software.
Amelia Symeou, who worked in the field collaring and monitoring sloths in the early years of the USP, left the jungles of Costa Rica and is now in charge of this tremendous task in England. In the following video, she explains how she first calibrates the datasets—this time using data from George, the sloth from La Selva.
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How graphics can tell us the lives of sloths
Cacao was a sloth we monitored in the early years of the USP. One day, he fell from the canopy, probably because the branch he was on broke. Nobody witnessed the incident. But we know it happened, and we know exactly what he did afterward, thanks to the data recorded by the data logger in his collar.
What you saw were just a few minutes in the life of Cacao. We still don’t know exactly what conclusions this research will bring, but we are starting to get closer to some answers.
For example, we have identified that access to microclimates is essential for sloths in urban areas to regulate their body temperature, and that habitat fragmentation restricts sloth movements and home ranges.
Why does this matter?
Understanding sloth behavior and their ecological needs allows us to develop and improve conservation strategies to protect them. Both species of sloths in Costa Rica are considered threatened by the country’s authorities, and statistically, sloths account for around 50% of the mammals admitted to rescue centers.
With mapping tools, we have pinpointed areas where canopy connectivity needs improvement, installing wildlife bridges and implementing reforestation efforts with key tree species to create safe corridors for urban-dwelling sloths.
You can support both our research and conservation initiatives by making a donation or adopting one of the sloths we are monitoring (and following their GPS updates!).
Cecilia Pamich
Communications & Outreach
