Tales From The Jungle | July 2025
Month number 7 is officially in the books, and what a ride it’s been. Between new research, new bridges, multiple flat tires (sigh), and a life-changing auction, July was anything but slow. We’ve had big wins, small setbacks, and some long-awaited dreams finally starting to take shape.
Lions Helping Sloths
In mid-July, we launched a silent auction like no other: a once-in-a-lifetime lion safari in Zimbabwe with me and wildlife photographer (and SloCo trustee) Suzi Eszterhas. The goal was to raise funds to begin building SloCo’s first-ever permanent headquarters.
After a whirlwind of last-minute bidding, the final price came in at an incredible $57,000 USD! We are over the moon, and so thankful to everyone who took part. To our winning bidder: thank you for helping us take a giant leap toward our biggest dream yet!
Dreams Taking Root
Just days later, we received the first architectural plans for our new HQ, and I won’t lie, we got a little emotional. After years of renting, packing, and relocating equipment and nurseries, the idea of finally putting down roots feels monumental. The proposal includes offices, a seed bank, a research lab and a permanent home for our forest nursery, all nestled in the rainforest.
Trees and Bridges
The Connected Gardens team had a full-on month:
- Installed 5 new Sloth Crossing wildlife bridges
- Visited 5 potential new sites
- Retrieved 4 camera traps (with over 2,100 wildlife crossing events on our bridges!)
- Planted 205 new trees!
You can explore all our recent bridge installations and reforestation projects on the interactive map here.
Straight from the treetops, here are Connected Gardens climber Dayber’s favourite camera trap moments from bridges SC-347, SC-348, and SC-262. Enjoy!
Tracking Sloths, One Forest at a Time
Our Urban Sloth Project team replaced the GPS collar of a primary forest sloth named Ponder, who – true to his name – was found deeply relaxed on a low branch.
We are now monitoring 4 sloths in primary forest and 5 in urban areas, including fan favourites Luiza, Tender, and Deborah. You can symbolically adopt any of them and receive monthly GPS updates tracking their adventures!
Adopt A Sloth
Meanwhile, the Great Sloth Census has officially transitioned from detection dog surveys (farewell, Keysha!) to drones and human observation. This month, the team completed 3 new sites and repeated 3 for comparison.
SloCo at the Regional Research Workshop
Our research manager José Guzmán attended the Second Workshop for the Development of the Regional Research Plan in the South Caribbean, hosted by Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment.
This session focused on improving how researchers and authorities communicate their findings – a much-needed step toward stronger collaboration and more effective conservation in the region.
This Is Not Pura Vida
We are continuing to work with leading Costa Rican organisations to address the tragic issue of wildlife electrocutions. This month, Alta Legal submitted a constitutional appeal arguing that wildlife electrocutions violate the Costa Rican Constitution, which recognises animals’ right to protection. In parallel, attorney Walter Brenes filed an administrative lawsuit against government institutions and the national electricity company.
These bold legal moves were inspired by our campaign, and we are so grateful to the attorneys lending their expertise to this cause. You can help too – by signing the petition!
What Went Wrong: Vehicle Edition
Let’s just say… our fleet took a beating this month. Foxy, our ever-faithful admin car (yes, all our vehicles have names), kicked things off with not one, but two flat tires, much to Tamara’s delight.
On Monday morning, we opened up our research vehicle Geoff only to find it crawling with ants. Apparently, they’d moved in over the weekend. Just jungle things.
But the biggest scare came when Sindi, our Connected Gardens truck, was involved in a minor accident. A man on a quad bike (carrying a child, no helmets) made a reckless turn. Our driver Mariano swerved to avoid them and hit a post. Thankfully, no one was hurt, the damage was minimal, and Sindi is already back on the road – thanks to quick thinking, seatbelts, and Mariano’s sloth-like calm under pressure.
💚 Thank You
As we move into August, big things are on the horizon. We’ve got field trips into remote rainforests, new projects taking shape, and something very exciting brewing behind the scenes – something we believe could revolutionize wildlife conservation in Costa Rica (stay tuned!).
Thank you, as always, for standing with us.
Your donations fund our wildlife bridges, reforestation, community outreach, and the research that drives it all. And now, as we begin a new chapter – building our very first permanent home – your support means more than ever.
No more shifting nurseries. No more scrambling for storage. Just one solid base, nestled in the rainforest, built with and for sloths.
It’s a huge milestone, and we simply couldn’t do it without you.
Make a donation button
P.S. Speaking of a home… stay tuned for the next Tales from the Jungle – we will have another major update about this coming your way.
-Dr. Rebecca Cliffe
Founder and Executive Director
