Our Second Trip to Tortuguero to Install More Sloth Crossings!
Tortuguero is one of the most unique places in Costa Rica. It’s a small village with no streets or cars, which makes sense, as there are no roads leading there. The only way to reach Tortuguero is by a three-hour boat ride from Moin Port or a one-hour trip from the town of Parismina.
The “Little Amazon of Costa Rica,” as some tour guides and visitors call it, is known for its rivers and canals, and especially for the sea turtles that give Tortuguero its name. If you’re lucky, you might even spot jaguars!
In 2021, we made our first trip to collaborate with local organizations to organize a spay and neuter campaign for the many dogs in town and install six Sloth Crossings.
This time, our team of Diego, Dayber, José, and Jack visited Tortuguero to install more canopy bridges, set up camera traps, and collect data. We’re in the process of gathering as much information as possible to analyze and study the usage of the bridges.
What makes a Sloth Crossing effective? Is it the type of trees, the location, the height, or the color of the rope? How many days does it take for a sloth or a monkey to use a bridge on average? These are some of the questions we’re working to answer.
Day 1 – Getting to Tortuguero
At 8 a.m., the team started the journey with a one-hour drive from Puerto Viejo de Talamanca to Moín, one of the largest ports in Costa Rica, where the boats to Tortuguero depart around 10 a.m.
Because we’re in the peak of the dry season, it hasn’t rained in the last couple of months, so the river levels were low. The boat hit some sandbanks, which, while not dangerous, caused the engine battery to disconnect. Less than an hour into the boat ride, the team, and other passengers were stranded in the middle of the jungle.
Thankfully, it was fixed in about 20 minutes! During the trip, they saw all kinds of wildlife: shorebirds, monkeys, iguanas, caimans, and, of course, big crocodiles!
In the afternoon, the team arrived in Tortuguero and planned to check the old bridges we installed in 2021 after lunch. However, Tortuguero is known for its erratic weather: a sudden and heavy rainfall started, and the team decided to wait. We’re not afraid of getting wet and usually work in the rain, but in these conditions, it could be dangerous due to falling branches.
Tortuguero can switch from pouring rain to clear blue skies in minutes. But today was not the case, and the rain continued heavily and steadily until it got dark.
Day 2 – The Spider Monkey Day
It was raining when the team woke up, but by mid-morning, they could check the old bridges and survey the area. Some local collaborators informed us that near the school, a troop of spider monkeys and some sloths were using the power lines to move around. Although these power lines do not pose a risk of electrocution, it’s problematic if wildlife gets used to using our electrical infrastructure, as they might start using actual dangerous cables or reach uninsulated power lines or transformers.
By noon, the team had already decided where to install the new Sloth Crossings and camera traps. José and Jack gathered data from the trees while Diego and Dayber started installing bridges near the school.
Spider monkeys are territorial and can be dangerous. Back in 2021, Tamara, who was up in the canopy installing one of the bridges, was confronted by an angry troop of spider monkeys that were shouting and showing their teeth in a threatening way! Thankfully, she was back on the ground in time. What are the odds of the same situation happening again? Well, in Tortuguero, apparently, very high.
Dayber was up in the canopy installing one of the camera traps when suddenly, the branches above his head started shaking. It wasn’t a troop this time, just a single monkey, who started to shout at Dayber first, then began to climb down to get closer to him. Never be fooled by wildlife: spider monkeys are the largest primate species in the country, and their long fangs can inflict a lot of damage. And you don’t really want to be hurt by monkeys while hanging from the tree canopy.
Once again, luck was on our side, and Dayber descended safely and quickly. There are no videos of this moment because it all happened too fast, and the team was focused on Dayber’s safety. We’ll definitely let you know the next time we visit Tortuguero if we get threatened by the angry monkeys again.
Day 3 – Wednesday
Finally, a whole sunny day! The team could work from the early morning: Diego and Dayber installed two more Sloth Crossings around the school area while José and Jack continued collecting data and measurements.
They saw a troop of spider monkeys in the trees surrounding the school, but this time, there was no conflict with our team. Because the day was so productive, the team spent the afternoon on “Cerro Tortuguero,” a small hill with beautiful views to see the sunset. The next day, the team came back home.
The trip to Tortuguero was a success!
In total, the team installed four new Sloth Crossings and two camera traps, checked the conditions of the old bridges (they are okay!), and collected data on all the old and new bridges.
We also reached a huge milestone for the project: Sloth Crossing No. 300! You can check the Connected Gardens/Sloth Crossing map below and navigate the South Caribbean and Tortuguero! The latest bridges will be added next week, so that’s why you’ll only see the first six bridges in Tortuguero.
You can support this project by sponsoring a bridge of your own, making a donation, and sharing our content on social media! And a heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this project possible from day one, and to all the property owners who opened their doors to let us make their gardens part of this extensive grid of Sloth Crossings in the South Caribbean.
-Cecilia Pamich
Communications & Outreach
