In Search of Sloths: A Costa Rican Adventure Through the Bogarin Trail

Today was our first encounter with a sloth in Costa Rica! It was the thing that I was most excited about of all. You can’t go to Costa Rica and not see sloths, I told myself.

We had heard from other people that a guaranteed way to see a sloth was to join a “sloth walk”. This is what it says on the tin, a guided walk whereby a local guide will find and point out sloths for you.

You might think that they don’t need pointing out, but they are trickier to spot than you think! Especially the ones that are very high up in the trees. If we had walked the same path by ourselves, I think I would have missed them entirely.

I’m not sure how our guide spotted half the animals he did, but it felt like he had a real superpower! It was also beneficial to have access to a telescope, so we were able to get a closer look at things.

We chose the Bogarin Trail, which is on reclaimed land in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. In just 20 years, they transformed former farmland into a natural habitat for local wildlife. It’s a truly wonderful project, and the progress they’ve made is astonishing. Our guide has been with the project since its conception and knows the forest like the back of his hand. He was such a lovely person and so passionate about the conservation work that they do.

We first entered the reception area and where we waited was a tropical bird oasis. Lush trees surrounded a sweet pond swarmed by flashes of colour, pastel, emerald green, and firebox reds, birds of all different shapes and sizes. We sat quietly in awe with our heads tilted to one side as if watching a fireworks display, with all the right oohs and ahhs as birds landed on the nearby empty husk of a papaya.

Not long into the walk, we spotted the most famous Costa Rican bird of all, a toucan or banana bird with its beautiful, big, yellow curved beak. This was a special moment for me, as this was another animal that I was desperate to see in the wild. They’re both comical and gorgeous. I just love them!

Next, our guide found an eye-catching, poisonous tree frog, blood red with intense blue painted legs against an emerald green leaf.

There was a rustling in the bushes, and we thought it was a little armadillo, but it was too quick for us to be sure.

We then spotted this marvelous creature traipsing through the forest floor, a rodent with long, lean legs not typically reserved for rodents and his nose snuffled in the undergrowth.

At first, sloths were difficult to spot. They were all far away, high up in the trees with an occluded view. Their backs were turned to us and they were fast asleep. “We can do better” our guide acclaimed. He eventually exceeded expectations.

We found a mother sloth cradling her baby!

Luckily for us, it was baby season. So not only did we get to see the kind faces of the mama sloths but peeking out were the sweet little faces of the babies, sitting on their mothers’ tummies, all soft and cosy. They were so cute I could have cried! Peaking out at us below and popping back into the cuddle, stretching and giving themselves a little scratch with their long claws.

Speaking of baby season, we also learned some funny facts about sloths!

When a female sloth wants sex, she outright screams. The male sloth will hear her and come as quickly as he can, which bless him, often isn’t fast enough and by the time he reaches the female, she’s no longer interested, and the poor bloke needs to make a U-turn.

If by some miracle they do have sex and produce a baby, the way the baby is born is equally funny. It bungee jumps out of the mother! The baby will be dangling below her by its umbilical cord, before the mother slowly reaches down and scoops up the hanging baby with her claws to retrieve it from the air.

Luckily for us there were three in one area, six including the babies. We even saw one in action, which is as much action as you can get with a sloth, slowly climbing up the tree.

It was a truly magical experience and one I will never forget!

I would recommend the Bogarin Trail in La Fortuna to anyone who will listen to me dish out fun party facts about sloths.

Thank you for reading! Hearts and tips are always welcome and your support is very much appreciated.

This story was originally published on Medium

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