Team Sloth Goes To Brazil to Meet Giant Armadillos
*By Dr Rebecca Cliffe
Sloths and giant armadillos belong to the superorder Xenarthra, and although they may seem like very different animals—one living high in the canopy and the other underground in burrows—they actually have many things in common, especially when it comes to conservation challenges.
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In September 2024 , we visited Gabriel Massocato in the Pantanal, Brazil, to learn more about his work with the Giant Armadillo Project. Both Gabriel and I won a €50,000 award from the Future For Nature Foundation in 2022 for our research and conservation initiatives, which funded important projects like The Great Sloth Census and Gabriel’s work with armadillos.
The primary objectives of the visit were to collaborate on conservation initiatives, test field equipment, share region-specific knowledge, and explore potential opportunities for future partnerships.
Team Xenarthans
For over a week, we actively participated in fieldwork activities, including tracking, capturing, and collecting data on armadillos, providing us with a unique opportunity to exchange knowledge and techniques.
We also visited Campo Grande in Mato Grosso do Sul, where we engaged with the Bandeiras & Rodovias Project, learning their methods for reducing Xenarthran-vehicle collisions, and we met with the Projeto CãoVivência team who work in mitigating conflicts between armadillos and dogs.
Giant Armadillo Capture and monitoring devices
On our first afternoon, we ventured into the field to track giant armadillos, setting a trap at the entrance of a known burrow. By the evening, we returned to find an armadillo successfully captured.
The giant armadillo, weighing an impressive 29kg, was anesthetized for a thorough examination, measured, and outfitted with a GPS tracking device attached to her carapace. This experience highlighted the shared challenges of tracking sloths and armadillos, especially in attaching GPS devices. Armadillos, like sloths, present unique difficulties—collars irritate their neck glands, harnesses don’t stay on due to burrowing behavior, and adhesives are unsuitable for their carapace.
Learning about the technology Gabriel’s team uses was very helpful for us. We have struggled with sloth GPS tracking, grappling with inaccuracies, size and weight limitations, unreliable equipment, and short battery life. Gabriel’s use of Telonics GPS tags, combined with VHF transmitters programmed to activate for only a few hours per day to conserve battery life, provided a fresh perspective. We also discussed the potential of implantable VHF transmitters, which Gabriel has used successfully in giant armadillos, as a possible solution for our sloths.
One of the most impressive aspects of the fieldwork was witnessing the meticulous protocols Gabriel’s team has in place for collecting biological and genetic samples from every captured armadillo.
Giant Armadillo Tracking
Tracking armadillos proved to be just as complex as tracking sloths in the dense rainforest canopy. Armadillos spend over 17 hours a day in burrows, which significantly reduces the detection range of the tags. We accompanied Gabriel’s team into the field daily to track the animals, and we experimented with new techniques such as mounting the receiving antenna on an 8-meter extension pole to maximize the detection range.
We also shared insights on the use of accelerometery to understand the behaviour of cryptic mammals, such as sloths in trees or armadillos underground. In Costa Rica, we have extensive experience with micro data-logging devices that track sloth behaviour. These data loggers combine accelerometery with magnetometry, temperature, and pressure sensors.
Drones and Camera Traps
The Great Sloth Census is one of our latest research projects, where we use various methods to study population trends of sloths in Costa Rica. One of these methods involves a drone equipped with a thermal camera to count sloths in the canopy.
Our original plan was to test our drone with the Giant Armadillos, but Unfortunately, we were unable to do this because our drone was under repair following a crash in Costa Rica. The extreme temperatures in the Pantanal (reaching up to 46°C!) during our visit would have rendered the drone ineffective.
Gabriel’s team showed us their use of camera traps to monitor armadillo activity at known burrows and to track the use of these burrows by other species. We use camera traps extensively in our work with sloths in Costa Rica, particularly to monitor the use of our wildlife bridges by sloths and other animals.
Conservation Challenges for Giant Armadillos
We traveled to Campo Grande to meet other members of the Giant Armadillo Project team and learn about the conservation challenges facing giant armadillos, as well as the successful strategies they have implemented. There is considerable overlap in the strategies used by the project to engage local communities, fostering peaceful coexistence while respecting local customs and cultures.
One notable example was the work of the Projeto CãoVivência team, which focuses on reducing wildlife conflicts with domestic and feral dogs, particularly regarding giant anteaters, which are frequently attacked. The team uses targeted surveys to identify problem areas and then implements castration and vaccination campaigns to mitigate these issues. We face similar challenges with sloths in Costa Rica, as attacks by domestic dogs account for up to 30% of sloth deaths in the region.
We were also inspired by the Giant Armadillo-Friendly Honey Project, which promotes coexistence between wildlife and local beekeepers. This initiative aligns with our own vision of launching a sloth-friendly certification program in Costa Rica.
Future Collaborations
During our discussions, we explored several promising avenues for potential future collaboration between the Sloth Conservation Foundation (SloCo) and the Giant Armadillo Project, with a focus on areas where sloths and giant armadillos coexist within the same ecosystem. One of the most impactful ideas that emerged was to explore ways to concentrate our efforts in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil—an ecosystem that is home to both vulnerable sloth species and giant armadillos.
We are now excited to explore future opportunities for joint conservation efforts in the Atlantic Forest—a highly threatened ecosystem that is home to both sloths and giant armadillos. We left the visit inspired and equipped with new strategies and partnerships to help protect these extraordinary species.
Connecting Matters
Trips like this one are invaluable—not only because they offer an opportunity to learn about the methods and techniques used by colleagues, providing a fresh perspective on our own projects, but also because they offer a boost of energy and inspiration. Being in touch with a different species and ecosystem is rewarding, but the real value lies in connecting with fellow colleagues—their struggles, passions, challenges, and the ways they solve the problems they encounter.
I want to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Future For Nature Foundation for sponsoring this important collaboration and for enabling us to strengthen our work and deepen our understanding of wildlife conservation across regions, and to Gabriel and his team in Brazil for receiving us.
Dr Rebecca Cliffe
Founder and Executive Director
