Tales From the Jungle | June 2025
We have somehow reached the halfway point of 2025. The world beyond the rainforest feels loud, fast, and overwhelming these days – but here, under the canopy, the sloths are still sleeping quietly, tucked into the treetops. And we are still here, doing everything we can to keep this patch of the planet alive and thriving.
If you need a reminder that small actions matter – or just a break from the doom-scroll – we are happy to bring you a little joy and inspiration. There’s been a lot going on. Some of it is brilliant. Some of it is less so. But all of it is part of the work. Here’s a glimpse at our June in the jungle:
Strategy Day
Mid-year means Strategy Day – a full team day of sitting down, looking back, and figuring out what’s next (with a generous helping of Rice n’ Beans to keep the ideas flowing). We reviewed our goals, adjusted plans, and somehow discovered that we’ve already planted over 1,400 trees this year – double our original target. Other projects, like the sloth census and our new Rights of Nature initiative, are growing faster than expected. So we’re shifting gears and leaning in.
Trees and Sloth Crossings
It’s been a big month for bridges and trees. The team installed four new Sloth Crossing bridges and completed maintenance on four more. In June alone, we planted 600 trees. The forest is knitting itself back together, one tree and one vine at a time! And we retrieved four camera traps that gave us over 1300 photos of sloths, monkeys and kinkajous using the bridges!
Research
The Urban Sloth Project team collared two new sloths this month – Bolita, a calm and cooperative three-fingered sloth, and Chill, a female two-fingered sloth with absolutely no chill whatsoever. They were found deep in the primary forest, after a week of sloth tracking with the full team (and far more snake sightings than anyone was comfortable with).
We now have five sloths collared in primary forest. We’re preparing to tag the next one – his name will be Ponder, in honour of someone who helps make all of this work possible!
The Great Sloth Census also continues. One new site completed, one old one revisited. Some surprises, some sweat, and a few too many bullet ants (see below).
Little by Little Toward Our Own HQ
After months of planning, we finally began flattening the land where our new headquarters will rise. We’re not removing any healthy trees – just carefully shaping the space around the forest. Permits are slow (as always in Costa Rica), but we’re inching forward. The dream is becoming real.
Telemetry Workshop
This month, we ran a two-day workshop on wildlife telemetry for students from Universidad Nacional. José, our resident sloth-tracker-in-chief, led the sessions, sharing his hard-earned expertise with the next generation of biologists. They got their first taste of finding sloths in the canopy, which is no small feat!
What Went Wrong
Our field car spent the week at the mechanic. Turns out, replacing a gearbox is just as expensive as it sounds. This is just one of those unexpected costs we have to roll with.
At our census sites, snakes were plentiful (thrilling for José, alarming for everyone else). But it was the bullet ants that really made an impression – Mariano and Diego both took a sting. They’re fine, but it hurt a lot (bullet ants are officially THE most painful insect stings in the world).
And we tested a new sloth bridge made from natural yute fiber. It snapped in half during installation. Back to the drawing board on biodegradable options – the rainforest is tough on materials!
The work is wild, unpredictable – and always worth it.
That’s all from the jungle this month. We are incredibly proud of what we’re building here: a future where sloths and people can thrive side by side. But we can’t do it alone. Like many conservation groups right now, we’ve been hit hard by the global funding slowdown, and every donation truly matters more than ever.
If you believe in what we do, and you’re in a position to help, please consider supporting us. Just $5 a month can make a big difference – planting trees, training guides, building bridges, and keeping our boots (and paws) on the ground.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Your support keeps us going (even on the bullet-ant-sting kind of days).
And if the world feels heavy lately, just take a deep breath… and picture a sloth, upside down in a tree, peacefully doing absolutely nothing. It helps.
Until next month,
