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    Moveover, Meercats! Lazy? Sloths are a lot Livelier Than you Think

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    TCRN STAFFhttps://www.TheCostaRicaNews.com
    Creating a Conscious alternative news network that we feel the world needs. Pura Vida!

    Thereโ€™s an upside-downย world in a sleepy corner ofย Costa Rica, Central America,ย where laziness is a virtue,ย not a sin: a sanctuaryย โ€“ the only one in the world โ€“ devoted toย saving orphaned and injured sloths.

    Forย the past year Iโ€™ve been making a documentaryย about the residents of this idleย idyll for Animal Planet. But far fromย being a somnolent sort of place whereย not much happens, I found a surprisingย soap opera of love, loss โ€“ and lust.

    It all began when I stumbled upon theย Aviarios del Caribe sloth sanctuary inย 2010. I love odd animals and baby slothsย are a goofy mixture of inappropriateย dozing, wobbly vulnerability and hooklikeย hands.

    I thought they were hilariousย and posted a rough-and-ready videoย called Meet The Sloths online. Withinย days it had gone around the world, beenย tweeted by Stephen Fry, Ricky Gervaisย and Ashton Kutcher, and featured everywhereย from the CNN news channel toย The Moscow Times. And now theyโ€™veย got their own TV show.

    Despite their reputation for laziness โ€“ย sloths spend up to 70 per cent of theirย time โ€˜restingโ€™ โ€“ and stupidity, they are inย fact remarkably successful animals,ย whose slow-motion lifestyle helps themย slip under the radar of predators, suchย as the harpy eagle.

    In the wild theyโ€™reย shrouded in a cloak of invisibility: theirย mottled green fur a miniature ecosystemย harbouring two species of algae andย thousands of insects, including a mothย that lives only on sloths. With no naturalย odour, they look and smell just like a tree.

    Itโ€™s been suggested their nerves haveย evolved to react more slowly so they donโ€™tย flinch at loud noises, which surely makesย them natureโ€™s most chilled-out animal.ย But 60 million years of evolution hasย not prepared the sloth for the roads andย powerlines that now crisscross their jungleย home.

    Two of the six species inhabitingย South and Central America areย endangered, largely thanks to mankind.ย Which is where the sanctuary comes in.ย Itโ€™s the creation of Judy Avey-Arroyo, anย attractive American in her sixties, whoย never intended to start a sloth sanctuary.

    She and her husband Luis ran a smallย hotel on Costa Ricaโ€™s undeveloped Caribbeanย coast. One day, two small girlsย turned up on her doorstep clutching aย shoebox. Inside was a tiny, three-toedย sloth, just weeks old, that had been foundย clinging to its dead mother by the side ofย the road.

    At the time no one had managedย to keep a baby sloth alive longer than a few months because it is almost impossible to find a substitute for sloth milk, but Judy decided sheโ€™d try. She had no formal training, but her mother had run a pet shop so sheโ€™d grown up among exotic creatures.

    Unfazed, Judy adopted a common sense approach and succeeded where others had failed by using goatโ€™s milk. That baby, Buttercup โ€“ now 20 years old โ€“ is the worldโ€™s oldest captive sloth.

    Sloths have very distinct personalities and Buttercup is quite a character. She decided she didnโ€™t want to live in a tree, and would curl up on the couch with Judy and Luis and watch TV. Now she rules over her sleepy empire from a Seventies hanging basket chair.

    Word soon got out there was a place that cared for sloths in need, and in no time there were sloths everywhere. Many are orphans, while others are rescuedย  from poachers who snatch babies for the illegal pet trade. The babies are fed every four hours and like a stuffed toy to hug in place of their mothers. And because sloths have a slow metabolic rate, a very low body temperature and the Costa Rican nights can get chilly, the very young ones are kept in incubators โ€“ and in extreme cases wear bespoke sloth pyjamas crafted from old sports socks.

    Judy does her best to be a surrogate mum, but one thing she canโ€™t teach her sloths is which leaves are safe to eat. The jungle is full of toxic trees, and sloths are adapted to eat just a handful. Sadly, Judyโ€™s few attempts at releasing orphans back into the wild have resulted in tragedy so, until more research is done, the sloths must remain her guests.

    There is just one house rule. No sex. Judy really doesnโ€™t want any more babies, so the adult males and females are kept apart to minimise temptation. But when the sanctuaryโ€™s females are in heat they scream, attracting wild males from the jungle up to half a mile away.

    Often, more than one male will arrive and a fight breaks out โ€“ the loser is the first to fall from the tree. We were lucky to be the first film crew to capture wild sloths mating but, after a flurry of creative posturing, the deed itself is over in less than five seconds. And guess what the satisfied sloth does immediately afterwards? Yep, he has a nap.

    Meet The Sloths, Animal Planet, Sunday 4 March, 8pm. www.slothville.com

    By LUCY COOKE

    Pictures and Article fromย http://www.dailymail.co.uk

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