tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10251524324950069862024-03-05T23:56:05.867-08:00The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica - Sloth Blog My name is Rebecca Cliffe and I am a PhD student researching sloths at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica. I spend my days chasing wild sloths through the rainforest for the Sloth Backpack Project and trying to develop a release program to give hand-reared orphans a second chance at a life in the wild.Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-2045837438693989542013-11-09T08:15:00.001-08:002013-11-09T08:15:37.030-08:00The all new sloth blog<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have created a brand new website where I will be uploading regular photos and updates from our sloth research, the Sloth Backpack Project and general Sloth Sanctuary updates! Here you can also subscribe to our mailing list:</span></div>
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Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-25165339710886767172013-10-29T14:04:00.005-07:002013-10-29T14:10:01.003-07:00A Close Call<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since giving birth to baby Jo-Jo, Madonna hasn't moved from her favorite tree - this has made my job very easy! It doesn't take me very long to locate her on my daily visits to the jungle. On one of these visits, I had a hair-raising moment. Having reached the base of Madonna's tree, before I even had the chance to look upwards, I heard a terrifying crashing noise. Without a second thought my instincts kicked in and I began to run. Honestly I didn't have a clue what I was running from, but I was running anyway! I only stopped when I heard a sickening thud; a thud that I have heard all too many times. This was the kind of thudding noise a sloth makes as it hits the ground. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I spun around and to my horror, I immediately saw what I was fearing. It was Madonna and Jo-Jo. The branch she had been holding had broken and they had fallen about 30ft, landing exactly where I had been standing 2 seconds earlier. Either Madonna was trying to get rid of me or she just has terrible timing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For what seemed like an eternity everything was still. I was rooted to the spot. It took me about a minute to realize I wasn't even breathing. Finally I saw some movement and to my relief it was Jo-Jo. She had landed about a foot from Madonna and was making her way over to mom. As fast as I could I whipped out my camera and began to film what was happening. Jo-Jo safely climbed back onto Madonna's side and she began making her way towards the base of the tree. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: center;">It was only when she started to climb upwards that I suddenly realized</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> something very frustrating. It quickly dawned on me that this was the perfect opportunity for me to replace her Backpack and collect the existing data. Well.... it would have been perfect if I had remembered to bring the right equipment. I had to stand and watch her and Jo-Jo climb up and out of reach, I have never kicked myself harder. It's safe to say I have learned this lesson the hard way and now bring everything I could possibly need with me on every trip into the rainforest. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After their fall, thankfully Madonna and Jo-Jo both seem to be doing fine. I think the whole ordeal terrified me more than them. </span></div>
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Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-6197360762946823652013-10-19T10:34:00.002-07:002013-10-19T10:34:38.109-07:00Happy International Sloth Day! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">October the 19th is officially International Sloth Day - a great reason to slow down and embrace your inner sloth!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mental-downtime">New research</a> published this week has shown just how important sleep and relaxation can be for our mental wellbeing, so let's put our feet up and treat ourselves to a bit of downtime today!</span></div>
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<br />Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-78255503816203779272013-10-10T18:43:00.005-07:002013-10-10T19:18:50.341-07:00... And a baby was born!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At 10am on October 5th, I was trekking through the jungle trying to avoid the giant spiders whilst scanning the treetops for Madonna, the female sloth I have tagged with a backpack. I couldn't see her anywhere. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With my neck getting stiff from staring upwards I was beginning to lose hope of finding her (even with GPS and radio transmitters telling me exactly where she is, it can be impossible to see her through the canopy sometimes!) Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move. It was Madonna and she had moved to a low down tree. She was acting strangely, and it didn't take me long to figure out why. She was giving birth, right there in front of my nose, I couldn't believe my eyes. I felt like laughing, screaming, crying and celebrating all at once. With shaking hands I grabbed for my camera and began trying to record what was happening. Unfortunately the gloomy jungle made photographs and videos difficult, but out of thousands that I took a few worked out well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the baby made it's way into the world (looking a little bit like a slimy alien...) things didn't quite go as I am sure Madonna had planned. Instead of climbing up onto her chest, the baby crawled onto her hand and somehow got tangled up in a vine. Then the baby fell. I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head. A million scenarios of what I should do raced through my mind but I found myself rooted to the spot. Thankfully I didn't have to intervene. By</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> some miracle, the baby managed to grab onto Madonna's leg with it's tiny fingers and began to yell. Madonna quickly scooped her baby up and into the safety of her arms where she began the clean up job. Meanwhile I was still picking my jaw up off the ground with my camera glued to my face. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Pdne0DpO86WtqRWL2lIxLPkk36JYjIyo4usO4GE2my0A1Cn1y0dmQBQCPUQZEf5Fuuw64j66jycMSz79ZaDM7wQZrvSD-36WL9E9SW6-vS0xncnfV9JfH-DBy1xnPYCCgCe4BGj9TzBv/s1600/20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Pdne0DpO86WtqRWL2lIxLPkk36JYjIyo4usO4GE2my0A1Cn1y0dmQBQCPUQZEf5Fuuw64j66jycMSz79ZaDM7wQZrvSD-36WL9E9SW6-vS0xncnfV9JfH-DBy1xnPYCCgCe4BGj9TzBv/s400/20.jpg" width="323" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Over the next hour, Madonna happily chewed through the umbilical cord and delivered the placenta. By now the baby was starting to look a bit more like a typical cute baby sloth and was snuggled on Madonna's chest. She took a moment to move to the front of the tree and lean back with her arms out, completely exposing the baby to me, before beginning her climb back up to the canopy. Why she did this I have absolutely no idea, but I definitely wasn't complaining. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpPm8yZ1geNhHXz5b95EnytjHFl0XlFiecuWsNGP2g9YUM1o5kAzXCGYf-CpiMe9Bst8ynA9nKhFgYheLEuC6Wri9GVGySrvo90EHpL6aNKp873My6w_dkwTCe4-sDoWyEofta2NkE1VWm/s1600/23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpPm8yZ1geNhHXz5b95EnytjHFl0XlFiecuWsNGP2g9YUM1o5kAzXCGYf-CpiMe9Bst8ynA9nKhFgYheLEuC6Wri9GVGySrvo90EHpL6aNKp873My6w_dkwTCe4-sDoWyEofta2NkE1VWm/s640/23.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Madonna apparently showing off her new baby!</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have been following her movements ever since the birth and I am happy to announce that both mom and baby are doing great. The baby can only be described as a whopper, clearly taking after Madonna. She was, after all, by far the biggest sloth I have ever worked with! We won't know baby's gender for a while but he/she has been named Jo-Jo, fondly referred to as little 'peanut'! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50wbQC2o7E0IS-RcFm1r_Fu1ufYfadXd173uZZIL8XhR0PKxzP1HqjdKcEk_XVcIxrbkkG1_rZr8mr67DTvaALTYGwSW0n3FjTmjjURU0hHFevo0znymdNZy6rK7f-UyTmAeiW8E4WFmq/s1600/57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="441" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh50wbQC2o7E0IS-RcFm1r_Fu1ufYfadXd173uZZIL8XhR0PKxzP1HqjdKcEk_XVcIxrbkkG1_rZr8mr67DTvaALTYGwSW0n3FjTmjjURU0hHFevo0znymdNZy6rK7f-UyTmAeiW8E4WFmq/s640/57.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSy8AjaoOxA31olhJlHCPThoRh6eIoLHzcjOg_5GisDfxqfasR86RNGb2sTa1ihppsCc1_lXDyj3TrSorNNvdyzxUmtxp0uIY-21_nqlnIO59VkJcYA6BQqB1VZT3YyXV7y9ZanCqDCfWH/s1600/40.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSy8AjaoOxA31olhJlHCPThoRh6eIoLHzcjOg_5GisDfxqfasR86RNGb2sTa1ihppsCc1_lXDyj3TrSorNNvdyzxUmtxp0uIY-21_nqlnIO59VkJcYA6BQqB1VZT3YyXV7y9ZanCqDCfWH/s640/40.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxC_gbMFtfnTCKh3ba6cBdeCzlPetsXSlVhw78pYCtkCvKNuh4idlj0mbAxcsdOfeJEZlILryAAnp1sR0nPDQSDZm0wb8vNQjKnoY5lmT5XuzXmDJj4uDaFecm4LTr9r17ZEWyD-KxE7gE/s1600/33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxC_gbMFtfnTCKh3ba6cBdeCzlPetsXSlVhw78pYCtkCvKNuh4idlj0mbAxcsdOfeJEZlILryAAnp1sR0nPDQSDZm0wb8vNQjKnoY5lmT5XuzXmDJj4uDaFecm4LTr9r17ZEWyD-KxE7gE/s400/33.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the birth, Madonna curled into a ball at the top of her favorite tree and stayed there. In fact, she didn't move a muscle for 3 days. I couldn't see the baby at all, and I nervously began scanning the forest floor to make sure she hadn't dropped the little peanut. On the 4th day she was back relaxing in the place she gave birth, with a fluffy and bright eyed Jo-Jo clambering all over her. Today she came down to the ground to poop (I found the mountain of <span style="background-color: white;">evidence</span>) before climbing back up into her favorite tree. At only 5 days old, I was amazed to see Jo-Jo attempting to eat a leaf (and a branch, and basically anything that was within reach- <span style="background-color: white;">we clearly have something in
common!</span>)</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRL4tw6FI_INBpj-2_ijkeeYBQdSkDgfq5e6inuIkvOsgys0vijbkK9gMghpI9WuLSgGtBOk2NchECRmMGFLV-GLXdVxKO-kZx-2tGZnBm2Ca5E7dZpLsQj4-XzXnkaZ8X4_01n86U_uf8/s1600/54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRL4tw6FI_INBpj-2_ijkeeYBQdSkDgfq5e6inuIkvOsgys0vijbkK9gMghpI9WuLSgGtBOk2NchECRmMGFLV-GLXdVxKO-kZx-2tGZnBm2Ca5E7dZpLsQj4-XzXnkaZ8X4_01n86U_uf8/s640/54.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Yes, that is Jo-Jo sticking out a very long tongue!</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3g7_rboGEv2EN2mXGLbUQClzQIBgqKlEVjcbZ-SsfPrtHITuGU_qgmd4o93M88q-Ac_nIaY-v0CQDMPw-JhBmh-y3MqZwxJVyXYkeLG738eR-n5OvcvCG393tjDUHp3kDPD6mth_HU3yi/s1600/55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3g7_rboGEv2EN2mXGLbUQClzQIBgqKlEVjcbZ-SsfPrtHITuGU_qgmd4o93M88q-Ac_nIaY-v0CQDMPw-JhBmh-y3MqZwxJVyXYkeLG738eR-n5OvcvCG393tjDUHp3kDPD6mth_HU3yi/s640/55.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>... and eating a twig</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So far, everything has worked out perfectly. Because Madonna was in our care before being released, she is <span style="background-color: white;">completely</span> habituated to our presence and doesn't feel threatened. I knew this ever since she happily sat on my knee as we traveled to the release site - we have never known a wild sloth to be that trusting of humans. She really is special. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I feel incredibly privileged to have been witness to such a special moment in Madonna's life. With her backpack still working, I am going to be able to follow her for the next year, watching and learning exactly how she raises that little baby. She is going to teach us a huge amount, and I can't wait to share this adventure with you. </span><br />
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Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-76462286567933713392013-09-29T16:19:00.001-07:002013-09-29T16:26:11.970-07:00A GPS Success<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 17.99715805053711px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am delighted to announce that following the success of the <a href="http://igg.me/at/saveoursloths">Save Our Sloths</a> campaign, we have been able to tag a wild sloth with a GPS tracking backpack for the first time.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This exciting little backpack contains a VHF radio transmitter, a Daily Diary data logger and a rechargeable GPS tracker that will record the sloths' exact location every 30 minutes.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OoNRvT2Xg5OrP-8h4eGKfPqzPX4Oh7zsm2Ht9nSUt4iJn2SDzFxAoDZSoEzv7LEOLVZupK-0r8t2y3_Ss7lzfsYd5UdQsjPJjqJRGI0vyXup2T6eMhsFOZDwptYuzix1JiKsKbrIiLXe/s1600/IMG_1502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OoNRvT2Xg5OrP-8h4eGKfPqzPX4Oh7zsm2Ht9nSUt4iJn2SDzFxAoDZSoEzv7LEOLVZupK-0r8t2y3_Ss7lzfsYd5UdQsjPJjqJRGI0vyXup2T6eMhsFOZDwptYuzix1JiKsKbrIiLXe/s400/IMG_1502.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">THE TECHNOLOGY</span></u></b><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-left;">The tiny GPS tag that we have used is actually a test unit. I have been in contact with a great Italian company who have offered to custom build GPS tags specifically for the sloths. These tags will be designed so that the sloths body position and the dense rainforest canopy don't obstruct the GPS from finding a satellite signal. The data we collect from this backpack is going to be used by the GPS company to design and build the perfect tags for our project.</span><br />
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<b style="text-align: -webkit-left;"><u><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">THE SLOTH</span></u></b><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meet Madonna: one of the most peaceful and gentle wild sloths we have ever had the pleasure of working with. Madonna was brought to us by a local hotel owner after she had reportedly fallen out of her tree onto the building roof. Thankfully she was absolutely fine, but after an X-ray, we quickly noticed that she was pregnant.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This stroke of luck came at just the right time. By tagging Madonna with the backpack, we will be able to collect a huge amount of important data. We will be able to see when (and how) she gives birth, how long she nurses her baby for, and exactly how she teaches her baby all of those important life skills needed to survive in the forest. This is exactly what we have been waiting for! Of course, designing a backpack for a pregnant sloth was a challenge in itself. We had to make it adjustable and ensure that it didn't obstruct the nipples and prevent the baby from suckling. After several different designs, we finally came up with a winner.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">THE RELEASE</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We took Madonna deep into the forest on a 120 hectare protected island within the sanctuary grounds. We traveled initially by boat and then on foot. Madonna was so relaxed and gentle on the journey there was no need for a kennel - she was clearly enjoying the sights and sounds of being back in the forest. We put her into a beautiful big tree that we know is frequented by many three-fingered sloths in the area. Hopefully she will adapt well to being back out in the wild and will teach us a huge amount about how wild sloths live and most importantly how they raise their young. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will be spending a lot of time over the next few years following Madonna. I will also be looking to tag other sloths in the area, preferably a pregnant two-fingered female! Hopefully, through the information we will gain from this work, we will be able to apply our knowledge to develop our release program.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I look forward to sharing Madonna's adventures with you over the next few years!</span></div>
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Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-9302583387263049722013-05-11T11:21:00.000-07:002013-05-11T11:22:41.880-07:00S.O.S Save Our Sloths<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This week we have launched the <b>Save Our Sloths</b> fundraiser, and now we need <b>your help</b> in order to make this a success.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We are aiming to raise enough money to buy the necessary scientific equipment that will allow us to continue with our research and develop a release program to return hand-reared sloths back to their natural habitat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I passionately believe that your contribution will help to make a huge difference to the conservation of sloths around the world. Together we have the chance to discover more about these amazing animals and help to protect them in the future.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">As well as donations, please help us to spread the word and share our campaign page with all of your friends.</span><br />
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Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-66376809610697671242013-03-10T11:08:00.000-07:002013-03-10T11:08:59.357-07:00The all new Sloth Blog!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sloth lovers will be pleased to hear that I have just started a brand new Sloth Blog! I will post all of my research updates there (...and here) but I will also be uploading daily photos and Sloth Sanctuary stories.</span> </div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><u><a href="http://www.slothscience.com/">WWW.SLOTHSCIENCE.COM</a></u></span></div>
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Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-64765966644893517992013-02-21T13:18:00.001-08:002013-02-21T13:21:47.852-08:00The Back Patch Mystery<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sloths have many weird and mysterious behaviors that we are constantly trying to understand... Why are they so slow? Why do they come down to the ground to defecate? How long do they sleep for? These are all the common questions. The fact that male three-fingered sloths have evolved <span style="color: orange;"><b>bright orange</b> </span>patches on their backs seems to have been completely overlooked! Considering a sloths survival strategy is camouflage, this sticks out like a neon flashing light!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why have these bright back patches evolved? What is the benefit? Why don't females have them? Why does patch size and color differ so much between individuals? This begs so many questions that we are hoping to answer here at the <a href="http://www.slothsanctuary.com/">Sloth Sanctuary.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have learnt over time that male three-fingered sloths develop these patches as they reach sexual maturity at approximately 1 - 2 years old. They are always yellow or orange in color and divided by a central black stripe with additional black markings in a pattern unique to each individual.The type of hair within the patch is completely different in texture to the rest of the sloths hair and doesn't grow any algae. Interestingly, the patch appears to be covered in an unknown oily secretion and if you touch it, the yellow/orange pigment rubs off! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The result of rubbing the patch with a cloth:</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The (infuriating) video below was posted by a man who studies sloths in Panama. They claim that if a female sloth smells the oily back patch of a male, she will produce a loud vocalization. Unfortunately this is nothing but a fairy-tale, yet another example of terrible sloth science! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We have studied female vocalizations here at the Sloth Sanctuary and we know that they produce these screams for 10 days every month while they are in oestrus - regardless of any males present! The vocalizations attract male sloths into the area. It wouldn't make any sense for a female to scream if she was already with a mate! We did however test this theory out just to be sure - we rubbed the back patch of a wild male and held it under the noses of both a female who was in oestrus and a female who wasn't. Surprise surprise neither vocalized upon smelling the patch! Unfortunately this video is completely faked and probably explains the strange camera angle...!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> So the mystery continues. I am determined to find the reason for these big bright back patches and so have recently begun a study looking at this. Do bigger stronger males have bigger brighter patches? Does the patch size simply relate to body size? Do the patches get darker with age due to the continuous secretion of oily pigment? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To test this, I am on a mission to find as many different male sloths as I can. Luckily as the females come into oestrus here at the Sanctuary we get an influx of testosterone fueled males from the surrounding forest. I catch them and take measurements of body size, weight, patch size, pattern and color intensity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are building a male sloth back patch library!! </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>If you would like to donate to fund sloth research or the <a href="http://www.beckycliffe.blogspot.com/2012/07/help-fund-research-at-sloth-sanctuary_26.html">sloth backpack project </a>you can do so safely and securely through our sloth research Paypal account:</b></span></div>
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Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-47819498314466866112013-02-09T12:03:00.002-08:002013-02-09T12:05:30.953-08:00The sloth backpack solution!<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have learnt a valuable lesson this week: always have a back-up plan! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We recently discovered that the 3D printer we had been planning on using to create our backpacks was 'temporarily unavailable' - not great when I only had 3 weeks back in the UK to figure this out! </span></div>
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After a brief panic my lovely sister saved the day with a bright idea: my old high school, <a href="http://www.priory.lancs.sch.uk/">Penwortham Priory Academy</a>, had an excellent technology department... perhaps they could help! After a quick visit it was clear that the staff at the school were up for the challenge, what a relief! (although trying to explain that I needed help making a sloth backpack without sounding absolutely crazy was difficult enough!)</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">By this point, I only had 3 days left before I was due to fly back to Costa Rica (armed with the backpacks...) so we had no time to waste! The technology department staff immediately began brainstorming ideas and before long, they had developed 2 winning designs.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first is a waterproof backpack that will be used to house the original, larger Daily Diary... This design consists of an existing plastic container, modified with holes for the harness and a silicon sealed lid - tough, waterproof and functional!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second backpack design will contain our tiny new Daily Diary and VHF transmitter. Because this is a much smaller device, we used a vacuum form machine to mold a plastic sheet into exactly the right shape. This worked like a dream!</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, things couldn't just be that simple - the new Daily Diary contains a barometer which will allow us to track the height of the sloth in the tree. This feature requires a constant air supply in order to work, yet the whole backpack needs to be waterproof! To solve this dilemma, we have created a waterproof sloth backpack with a... snorkel! Essentially this is just a tiny bendy rubber tube that air can pass through but water can't.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to say a <b><span style="color: red;">HUGE</span></b> thank you to all the staff at Penwortham Priory Academy who made all of this possible by kindly donating their time and expertise to the project. </span><br />
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Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-88125591198513125202013-01-22T14:08:00.001-08:002013-01-22T14:08:20.793-08:00Spot the differenceNatures favourite hairstyle... <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6VkmXc7mDLfNl-W81C9uWCN4JikQ5q8p07V7HZW9O3ww4cs4lWy2icO4oeg9NMX6YS2DzpfTK4m_56lE4rG08kfM6DBGol5ilBgKtv7EqvsVq06PIZUBifBJ6WbnWePVHC6YA6nd1NVN/s640/blogger-image--2114319721.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO6VkmXc7mDLfNl-W81C9uWCN4JikQ5q8p07V7HZW9O3ww4cs4lWy2icO4oeg9NMX6YS2DzpfTK4m_56lE4rG08kfM6DBGol5ilBgKtv7EqvsVq06PIZUBifBJ6WbnWePVHC6YA6nd1NVN/s640/blogger-image--2114319721.jpg" /></a></div>Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-88360588984087675822013-01-21T09:38:00.000-08:002013-01-21T09:38:00.468-08:00The sloth backpack project - the story so far!<form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I want to say a huge <b><span style="color: red;">THANK YOU</span></b> to everyone who has donated to the project so far! We have managed to raise a whopping <b>$1450</b> (£915) which has all been put to good use. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This money, with help from Discovery Channel, has allowed us to finally buy some of the essential receiving equipment that we need in order to get started. This includes 2 VHF transmitters, a VHF receiver, antenna and all the necessary cabling!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can read more about the sloth backpack project </span><a href="http://www.slothsanctuary.com/2012/12/sloth-research/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week I will also be battling the heavy snow and heading down to Swansea University to buy our first two <a href="http://thefoundationforantarcticresearch.org/index.php/projects-2/dr-rory-wilson/">Daily Diaries</a>. Whilst there, I will also be trying to figure out a way to package these, along with the VHF transmitters and batteries, in a waterproof casing that will attach nicely onto our sloth harnesses! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This might be easier said than done... our original plan to do this using a 3D printer is looking like it could be difficult... we need an emergency back up plan just in case! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So far this includes me running around collecting all the appropriate sized plastic containers that I can find - we will try and modify them suitably in the lab this week. Who knew an ice lolly mould could potentially become a sloth tracking device!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am flying back out to the Sloth Sanctuary next weekend to begin some preliminary work with this new equipment! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, the project is going to need more than two tracking devices and so still needs <b>your help</b>! W</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">e are also hopeful to purchase automatic drop-off mechanisms in April so we can retrieve our data much more quickly - recapturing the sloths once they are hiding at the top of a 90 foot tree wearing their expensive backpacks is going to be a whole new challenge! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you would like to help us buy the equipment in order to complete this project, you can do so using the PayPal donate button on this blog. Every dollar goes directly towards funding our research and it really is appreciated! </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alternatively, if you would like to <b>‘Sponsor a sloth backpack’</b> for <b>$800</b> this would purchase an entire reusable unit that we will use for the duration of this project. If you chose to do this, you will get the chance to:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR" style="line-height: 21px; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Receive acknowledgement in all scientific papers that we publish during the project.</span></span></span></li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span dir="LTR" style="line-height: 21px; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Receive frequent updates, videos and photos from the sloth wearing your backpack throughout the 3 year study.</span></span></span></li>
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<span style="line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are interested in sponsoring a sloth backpack, or if you have any questions about the project, please don’t hesitate to contact me at <a href="mailto:rebeccacliffe06@gmail.com" style="text-decoration: initial;">rebeccacliffe06@gmail.com</a> for more information. </span></span></div>
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Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-67827011178756003272013-01-20T15:38:00.004-08:002013-01-20T15:38:30.437-08:00An interesting thought...<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If everyone who visited this blog over the last 2 years donated just <b>1 dollar</b> each, we would have raised enough money to fund our whole sloth research program for the next 3 years!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now here is a sloth in a hammock that will brighten anyone's Monday morning</span></div>
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Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-60891866885826056092012-07-26T10:00:00.002-07:002012-11-25T13:02:53.678-08:00SLOTH RESEARCH FUNDING<br />
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">My name is Becky Cliffe and I am a
zoologist from the </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="line-height: 150%;">UK</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="line-height: 150%;"> and the sloth
sanctuaries on-site researcher. I first came to the sanctuary in 2010 on a 12
month research placement through the </span><st1:place><st1:placetype><span style="line-height: 150%;">University</span></st1:placetype><span style="line-height: 150%;"> of </span><st1:placename><span style="line-height: 150%;">Manchester</span></st1:placename></st1:place><span style="line-height: 150%;">, and have never
looked back.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During those first 12 months here at the
sanctuary, I completed the first in-depth research project into captive sloth
biology, investigating factors such as food intake, activity budgets,
thermoregulation and oestrus cycles in Bradypus variegatus sloths. This project
has given us valuable baseline data which we are now using in order to develop
and improve the sanctuaries current rehabilitation and release program. The
scientific paper we produced from this project is in the process of publication
so keep checking back here for updates!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having now graduated from <st1:city><st1:place>Manchester</st1:place></st1:city> with a first class honours, I’m looking
to the future and beginning a long-term
research project on wild sloths for my PhD. This project will be completed in conjunction
with<a href="http://www.swan.ac.uk/biosci/research/smart/smartpeople/rorywilson/"> Dr. Rory Wilson</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of <st1:place><st1:placename>Swansea</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>University</st1:placetype></st1:place> and <span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://www.slothsanctuary.com/">The Sloth Sanctuary</a></span>. As many of you might
already know, we actually know very little about sloths and their ecology.
Even the most basic knowledge such as their natural diet still remains largely
a mystery - so the biggest problem for the sloth sanctuary has always been
trying to conserve an animal without really knowing anything about it. As a
result, we struggle to release many of the hand-raised orphans who are
brought into us for help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This project will involve tagging
and monitoring the daily activity of wild sloths (Bradypus variegatus and
Choloepus hoffmanni) within the extensive protected grounds of the sanctuary.
To do this, we will be using a small device designed by <st1:city><st1:place>Wilson</st1:place></st1:city> called<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://thefoundationforantarcticresearch.org/index.php/projects-2/dr-rory-wilson/">'The
Daily Diary'</a></span>. The exciting potential that this technology holds for research has been recognized though
<st1:city><st1:place>Wilson</st1:place></st1:city> receiving
the prestigious <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.rolexawards.com/profiles/laureates/rory_wilson/overview">Rolex
Award for enterprise</a></span>. Furthermore, these gadgets have now been recognized globally and were
even used in the making of National Geographic's largest ever series
'Great Migrations'<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Daily Diaries will
constantly collect information; recording for us exactly what our sloths are
doing and how much energy they are expending doing it. These devices will even
produce a detailed record of the environmental conditions that the sloths are
experiencing throughout the course of the day!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;">We will be combining these
little devices with VHF radio transmitters in a specially designed sloth
backpack. Thankfully, the harnesses we will be using have automatic drop-off
mechanisms built in so we can easily remove the backpack without having to
recapture the animal – very handy since sloths don’t like to come down to the ground
very much!</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Through the use of these devices, we are aiming
to gain a better understanding of the sloths daily </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">behavior</span><span style="line-height: 150%;"> patterns
including their diet, habitat preference and reproductive
habits. Furthermore, we hope to formulate estimates for factors such as population
densities and ranging patterns.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We hope that by gaining an
understanding of how sloths survive in the wild, this will help us to improve
our current rehabilitation program and will allow us to develop conservation
strategies in order to better protect existing wild populations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, in order
to do all of this and before we can begin, we need to raise enough funds to
cover the costs of our field work and research equipment. Each ‘sloth backpack’
including a Daily Diary, VHF transmitter and harness with drop-off mechanism
costs USD $800 (£500)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you would like
to <b><span style="color: red;">donate</span></b> and help us achieve this, we have set up a specific research account <u><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=BUZgmIcVKzysDCeYuDWhykUriJi4U8aaWr-L6I5eTaeQlpjGNFwfF0sTnzW&dispatch=50a222a57771920b6a3d7b606239e4d529b525e0b7e69bf0224adecfb0124e9b61f737ba21b0819882a9058c69cf92dcdac469a145272506">here</a>.</span></u> No donation is too small; every dollar is a step closer to reaching our dream!</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alternatively, if
you would like to <b><u><span style="color: red;">‘Sponsor a sloth backpack’</span></u></b> for <b><u>$800</u></b> this would purchase an
entire reusable unit that we will use for the duration of this project. If you
chose to do this, you will get the chance to:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span></span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Name the backpack (this will appear on the
backpack itself as well as in all publications resulting from this research)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Receive acknowledgement in all scientific
papers that we publish during the project.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span dir="LTR" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 150%; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Receive frequent updates, videos and photos
from the sloth wearing your backpack throughout the 3 year study.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are
interested in sponsoring a sloth backpack, or if you have any questions about
the project, please don’t hesitate to contact me at <a href="mailto:rebeccacliffe06@gmail.com"><span style="color: blue;">rebeccacliffe06@gmail.com</span></a> for more
information. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-15834572591617300722012-02-19T10:12:00.000-08:002012-02-19T11:32:10.815-08:00Everyone needs a little bit of sloth<div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">For any keen sloth fans out there who would like to help, this website is selling some great sloth-related bits and bobs </span><b style="font-size: 100%; ">and </b><span style="font-size: 100%; ">all pr</span><span style="font-size: 100%; "></span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">oceeds go directly to the sanctuary!! </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-size: 100%; ">Take a peek: </span></span><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ForTheSloths" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: left; ">http://www.etsy.com/shop/ForTheSloths</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; "><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-auto; "><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLEOtCx6BHmDkt7z52hr2EwjnrTlj3Qa4gs-Tez07Gs6iWJ3pYOeEVscSse5-HgFgDkshooM1z2VcAx0R1CFlhhzZYq-ABvpEy0vgKwcb5qsqyx2uk9Zh1OeOM7rniGKJy7SNZUEy5er8X/s320/P1030673.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5710931159512931314" /></span></div><div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center; "><span style="font-size: medium; text-align: -webkit-auto; ">xxx</span></div>Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-4221660552980114842012-02-18T09:34:00.004-08:002012-02-18T09:37:54.686-08:00Sloths are hot right NOW<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 100%; font-family: Georgia, serif; ">With the upcoming release of the UK sloth documentary (4th March remember...) 2012 looks set to be the year of the sloth!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">And </span>we're<span style="font-size: 100%;"> not the only ones to notice, check this out </span></span><a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/animals/sloths-are-so-hot-right-now-5685" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">http://www.buzzfeed.com/animals/sloths-are-so-hot-right-now-5685</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">xxx</div>Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-13921897594473037942012-02-18T08:39:00.002-08:002012-02-18T08:44:42.327-08:00Something a little different...<div style="text-align: center;"><span >This is less sloth related, but just as interesting! An eye opening new blog from my good friend Nichola Shaw on the disturbing effects of keeping intelligent and highly social marine mammals such as dolphins and Orcas in captivity. It might make you think twice before booking that trip to SeaWorld. Check it out - </span><span style="text-align: left; "><a href="http://nicholashaw.blogspot.com/">http://nicholashaw.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzpLq10af5nUTEk4CaOs8gJLKSUyq5VLbCSijllgNyhuqXjB8TnxX9wBPkcCELPzLkXb9ZnydustjMexq7x-MbjHvMigaVyZr5N7-xlvMig0c6AHWhJ6K_vJ_2ugUBxpVChtBwYC1YGDWG/s320/P1030585.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5710517461225235362" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); text-decoration: underline; display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 258px; " /></div><div style="text-align: center;">xxx</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-42004103408055956522012-02-18T07:09:00.007-08:002012-07-07T08:52:04.451-07:00A flying visit<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Suffering massively from sloth withdrawals since being back in Manchester, I decided to make a flying visit back to the sanctuary! I could only squeeze in a quick 5 day visit but it was worth every second, and now I am back with a whole </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">bunch of sloth </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;">sanctuary updates for you all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">First up, this little guy:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5710499038999754066" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkr8k5s6YRGwMu3kEcNtOzj-ORYIsaTXGPSJWKLM5fFmvJUQxGJFGjavHm03QD2jdzZf2h7aegWFzDsV_pWtioImzPiWn3zCUM2pD6iZsVZUjW1Dux-6aYtl1jpbEP6KAS7FcWx5nZZLV/s320/430668_10150757445372388_88731996_n.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 320px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; width: 239px;" /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 100%;">It's <b>Luigi</b> !! He first arrived last summer and has grown so much now, although he is still a bombshell and can't be </span>separated<span style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"> from his </span>favorite<span style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"> stuffed dog! He now also has a new friendship blossoming with one of the new babies who arrived just after Christmas - baby </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>Becca </b></span><span style="font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">(obviously the best named sloth in the world...) Here she is in all her glory:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 100%;">Separated at birth, clearly...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;">And to top off all the great things that have been happening - The ball has started rolling with the plans for my PhD !!! This will be back out at the sanctu</span><span style="font-family: arial;">ary and will involve 3 years chasing wild sloths around the jungle, trying to figure out all the secrets behind their mysterious lives up there in the rainforest canopy! For now we are drafting out the plans and searching out the all important funding !!!!</span></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5710515044141366770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpb9newjuxH0rPZlbQh7vgRhmou-0ID7VuAYyZG1x_tIN_uPe-41Txw_iX34-av2coYhkb5bCWqLGRXQSPErhe7812xx8M9cwuIqTmPAGL-BuVKi35D2OXZPQL93FAOaN9tri1yJSGexwk/s320/A87I1705.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; font-size: medium; height: 214px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; width: 320px;" /></div>
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</div>Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-49558564643214354262012-01-24T06:39:00.001-08:002012-01-24T06:55:35.245-08:00Meet the slothsSo any avid sloth fans out there will most likely have seen this video made a couple of years ago by Lucy Cook... <div><br /></div><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/J8b5v4USEWY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>And then more recently...</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6JTAtsHh-yc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>I particularly enjoy the clip of Ubu rolling down the hill in that one! Anyway if you have read some of my older posts, you will know about Lucy Cook having been back at the sanctuary filming a full length documentary on the sloths for Animal Planet. This aired in the US just before Christmas and turned out to be a huge success - who knew there were so many closet sloth fans out there!! Now the date for the UK release has been set, so be sure to tune in on the 4th March and let us know what you think!!! Here are some clips from the US version to tickle your fancy - </div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/q1mAGQAw3Oc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/G-Zfozy7gGI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/t9TLsZAU0Fg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1x5tjPWwABc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>xxx</div>Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-24003760359654594962012-01-18T06:37:00.000-08:002012-01-18T06:52:25.967-08:00Update from Manchester<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span >So after unexpectedly discovering just how popular this blog has been, I have decided to keep it going from here in Manchester with the latest sloth-related goings on - of which there are surprisingly plenty! The first draft of the research paper I produced from the project last year is now finished and being edited, so I will be sure to post news of it's publishing on here when it comes around. Now I obviously won't be able to keep up to date </span><span style="font-family: arial; ">with all the individual sloth stories from the sanctuary, but </span><span style="font-family: arial; ">I am heading back out there next week for a flying visit so I will be sure to collect all the tales while I am there and also snap some </span><span style="font-family: arial; "> photos - so keep your eyes peeled!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; ">Can't wait to be back doing this:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbVyz_8Aa6QtfBg1812mcKj39KBV31uGa5WnuPIETASvu3YT_mtjVzQ9kwRJMOeMu370WODccxENi46m59wM3U5AX1xWlm7gs3hjkcLTxcKhEGzOaO1Bgc-sUGT9YJKtyVb3QdDkn-qDz/s320/307367_10150347396666690_619591689_10257975_6867684_n+%25281%2529.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698984514946752386" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">xxx</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-58304419091376515962011-07-21T09:43:00.000-07:002011-07-21T10:05:03.181-07:00Photos<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIDEW2VlcvyovKvYtxp0frFtsWxl16w_tgGXrsMVDNYY1Dtq8wL2UlBM9DlAgDn6TBKDK2sPyIr5fe9PXuifgIpsQbIyGqNSw21junD0NMS-UKunhdE_8uZhj9hnhGWt5VF16opUO-klZ/s1600/P1020823.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6bqQKOm-vUqg4T3-ka1UdQCHR2SsgeIa_SvCfSt71hNPQ9OPuaquD1RUiekDxvhY9Vmz4i0n8MpexFVmyGlA3VJ8Y5srQVDL5HOUtsmsUtsFa68W3f7kD2hmPSieb2weSF6GKSO1YHXxu/s1600/P1020709.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Ok so believe it or not ... this is my second post within a week !!! And like promised, I am delivering some photo's of the newbie babies etc. And also unfortunately delivering some more sad news - Sebastian (twin baby boy) sadly passed away this week. Violet and Sebastian were twins born at the sanctuary in the new year, and were a huge surprise for everyone! Now Violet is getting lots of love and cuddles to keep her from getting lonely without her other half. Anyway, here are a couple of snaps I have managed to take -<div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Puggles the Mexican, hairy, dwarf, prehensile tailed, tree porcupine: </b></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlNbLzmF0NOLuoHlpebJ7P9M1i2uxoeoLbGq5rBUGL3Ahur87cg7p9Q1muO0NwhZgSo-rdY7Ffid3whJlynHNoOIJ2_K09VZm485fJD6lSUU-SmVcx9VqoON0Hp6S2gxuC4I8wpFn4zfd/s320/P1020792.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631850781223196610" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 310px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEV4cmsJN5DteuK9BP7ImSjgHei-V5Yoz5frrVAvwXDGzmyrZk3hyZLwRGistzOeGkkr-2d8Bf-HHJaULErXphrWzTNh8v6huXPw37hIAB2sdkschKwNgzpPQIQSGS7Iil6GtvmroI3hw/s320/P1020802.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631851973050905458" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 320px; " /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHHZq35hf0VcXwKHvmR6DFKHs-uNAWlFQCKd889o-mahNeLzO6h2QCo1HXOeWv64tH5FUtOOBuL2tLiKlyIT6aVCiiiK-nYS0ke1qtmwqW5U3yB66N_InYEdb2YXOBgQxVMNS_1I6tS4b/s320/P1020790.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631850771274679634" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Oprah:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUJ9EYJQIrTq4kkkOem-j7OOTpoKALULOD-AHRaV8A93jNOHTcY-0Ic6_thpiBrqROBt78c1fYiXUjUd1ei9nVuyZfj_tsM-6NaCcmXLg40FLLM7f-GXKc0-mgHA_JRbzV44BeIt0Nl3aB/s320/P1020782.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631850769846743586" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Bindi:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1YtCuHpDsFarfm25-fXkmEpVhl6SF5NmQHg3_cvjryzaJMUHQTifxC9ES_8ewXzqyczTR6habU5kpMxQtdINOzGW__wQFgQDSkGJzq35kzauyi37rh3oq_DQXD87gZYzrNE_3njiEkWI/s1600/P1020776.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1YtCuHpDsFarfm25-fXkmEpVhl6SF5NmQHg3_cvjryzaJMUHQTifxC9ES_8ewXzqyczTR6habU5kpMxQtdINOzGW__wQFgQDSkGJzq35kzauyi37rh3oq_DQXD87gZYzrNE_3njiEkWI/s320/P1020776.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631849140165295682" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>New baby Luigi:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhML-4scUM6zH2beIMudw5DQDaotxuk7itx8DpYI34fqOtlU5ClUUd8kUlV-V1z0tkAS5pFzUEq9ZHiNZzljmDxRjJLm9wgy-hctVvWLmywnc8RaJmAndk9DABVyZWaSZ3LN87eOPJ-Dalk/s320/P1020744.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631849132523048322" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 223px; " /></span></div><div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Mateo taking a snooze on a shoulder:</b></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6bqQKOm-vUqg4T3-ka1UdQCHR2SsgeIa_SvCfSt71hNPQ9OPuaquD1RUiekDxvhY9Vmz4i0n8MpexFVmyGlA3VJ8Y5srQVDL5HOUtsmsUtsFa68W3f7kD2hmPSieb2weSF6GKSO1YHXxu/s320/P1020709.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631849122053052210" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 320px; " /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Poco and Shiloh </b>(they aren't new - but just because they are uber-cute) <b>:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgPtE3pVkQOkMcY292pBihIp5BJGEy9FOGNjlY09wNkRmvECeIWSFOtkQLm-FoCImFGBOwGgsSBiCSd6aIY7Ani0-tbrVCbDGSiYEbM2t5d9Rfnrx9jit6ZN4KFhA0lzdHZ_-LnFdUzFv/s1600/P1020814.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgPtE3pVkQOkMcY292pBihIp5BJGEy9FOGNjlY09wNkRmvECeIWSFOtkQLm-FoCImFGBOwGgsSBiCSd6aIY7Ani0-tbrVCbDGSiYEbM2t5d9Rfnrx9jit6ZN4KFhA0lzdHZ_-LnFdUzFv/s320/P1020814.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631851976018458914" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center; "><b>Cory is getting big these days:</b></div><div style="text-align: center; "><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIDEW2VlcvyovKvYtxp0frFtsWxl16w_tgGXrsMVDNYY1Dtq8wL2UlBM9DlAgDn6TBKDK2sPyIr5fe9PXuifgIpsQbIyGqNSw21junD0NMS-UKunhdE_8uZhj9hnhGWt5VF16opUO-klZ/s1600/P1020823.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIDEW2VlcvyovKvYtxp0frFtsWxl16w_tgGXrsMVDNYY1Dtq8wL2UlBM9DlAgDn6TBKDK2sPyIr5fe9PXuifgIpsQbIyGqNSw21junD0NMS-UKunhdE_8uZhj9hnhGWt5VF16opUO-klZ/s320/P1020823.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631851986497311346" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQgPtE3pVkQOkMcY292pBihIp5BJGEy9FOGNjlY09wNkRmvECeIWSFOtkQLm-FoCImFGBOwGgsSBiCSd6aIY7Ani0-tbrVCbDGSiYEbM2t5d9Rfnrx9jit6ZN4KFhA0lzdHZ_-LnFdUzFv/s1600/P1020814.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHHZq35hf0VcXwKHvmR6DFKHs-uNAWlFQCKd889o-mahNeLzO6h2QCo1HXOeWv64tH5FUtOOBuL2tLiKlyIT6aVCiiiK-nYS0ke1qtmwqW5U3yB66N_InYEdb2YXOBgQxVMNS_1I6tS4b/s1600/P1020790.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUJ9EYJQIrTq4kkkOem-j7OOTpoKALULOD-AHRaV8A93jNOHTcY-0Ic6_thpiBrqROBt78c1fYiXUjUd1ei9nVuyZfj_tsM-6NaCcmXLg40FLLM7f-GXKc0-mgHA_JRbzV44BeIt0Nl3aB/s1600/P1020782.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1YtCuHpDsFarfm25-fXkmEpVhl6SF5NmQHg3_cvjryzaJMUHQTifxC9ES_8ewXzqyczTR6habU5kpMxQtdINOzGW__wQFgQDSkGJzq35kzauyi37rh3oq_DQXD87gZYzrNE_3njiEkWI/s1600/P1020776.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEV4cmsJN5DteuK9BP7ImSjgHei-V5Yoz5frrVAvwXDGzmyrZk3hyZLwRGistzOeGkkr-2d8Bf-HHJaULErXphrWzTNh8v6huXPw37hIAB2sdkschKwNgzpPQIQSGS7Iil6GtvmroI3hw/s1600/P1020802.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQlNbLzmF0NOLuoHlpebJ7P9M1i2uxoeoLbGq5rBUGL3Ahur87cg7p9Q1muO0NwhZgSo-rdY7Ffid3whJlynHNoOIJ2_K09VZm485fJD6lSUU-SmVcx9VqoON0Hp6S2gxuC4I8wpFn4zfd/s1600/P1020792.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-12362373238620602052011-07-13T19:00:00.000-07:002011-07-16T17:23:46.678-07:00Living the dream....<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYEmME2uX0g-G1LvdULIykVurJ85sK_h3LIS7xXG4xBUjB1tLgie6-7zCkfGW9OKq_NbRUhHWzIZOeQSnl_t3lp5oEoEQeNlm58p36bVcslApq9aWz93tnrxaOcqUBu4RLoMWdenrQAKo/s1600/P1020647.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">YES I am still living the dream - and this is going to be a very long 3-month-worth blog entry but here goes! It seems all my positive "I will definitely write more often" energy was an epic fail. To be fair though, things aren't very slothful at the sloth sanctuary, very busy times!! However I can promise that I will take some pictures of all the things I mention here and post them over the next 2 days ... </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2MxZNDn7oezhFots7ekxVFsr0f5LF9P7uw85DozFIPz7dtaTOoUIdxRHVJgy7Y22iVrkr_BqBJ42urmpOzy0wurl1iqk47MWv-bAxvJQ6cjcdOqDLGqD8J6p2la0ebZjmsdgAnTFeRgj/s320/P1020625.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630092867130047634" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I know many of you already know the sad sloth news, but I will break it anyway. Over the last couple of months we have lost a few of the well loved babies including Alfie, Ella, Will and Lilo. Alfie was a complete shock to all of us, although he was always one of the small ones who had trouble growing - something we call failure to thrive. This was sadly the case with Ella too, although she hadn't really been herself for a few weeks prior. It's always very hard to see one of the sloths not well, since veterinary care for them is super difficult. There are few internal medications that they can handle, so most problems need to be treated topically. And this is where their careful, secretive nature catches them out - they don't like to let us know they aren't well, so they pretend to be absolutely fine until the very last moment when it's often hard to know whats wrong, and almost impossible to diagnose and treat. Blonde baby Will had (we think) neurological problems since the day he arrived - he was very erratic and didn't quite behave as we have come to expect. Sadly he deteriorated and passed away while snuggled up with his buddies in the incubator. Lilo was slightly older than the others, and probably came as the biggest shock. He had appeared happy and healthy, but had apparently been building up gas in his stomach (not normal since sloths can't fart or burp!) Although it turns out he had experienced some funky digestive problems as a baby that we thought he had grown out of.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Judy has come to learn that there is generally a reason why the babies who arrive here have been orphaned - their mom's probably know if something isn't quite right - and a lot of the time, these problems don't become apparent for a while!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">While speaking of sad news, many of you will know of Mateo - the little feisty fuzz ball always getting into trouble - well he isn't his usual self at the moment. He has some strange open sores on both his hands that don't seem to want to go away and he is all bandaged up to the shoulders to keep him from chewing at them. He is now being spoiled rotten and refuses to be left alone for more than 5 mins at a time, meaning there is always someone wandering around with him snoozing on their shoulder. He is snoozing on mine as I type this .... :) I think we need to invent some kind of sloth pouch so he can keep out of trouble!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Now Wookie has also experienced a sad series of events involving, unfortunately, his penis. It came out with a fungal infection which was treated and went away, but he couldn't resist scratching the itch which awkwardly caused it to tear and need stitches (I know men reading this are cringing at the thought ...!) Anyway to cut a long traumatic story short he got popped into a nappy / diaper for a few weeks which has allowed everything to heal. Poor Wookie!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ok so there are a few new characters who I need to introduce you to... baby time!! First comes Oprah. She is a Mateo look-a-like who couldn't be more like Oprah Winfrey herself. She came from Monteverde as we closed the new sanctuary and can be constantly found clinging to her yellow hippo stuffy in the nursery. Massive cutey!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Oprah:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWreDZIhbtoNWQlr8CYX84EBeGCVVafOczrJI4WrGrt9VZ2rKGN6wz1YVwdU_Qhm2da65jpAJsf2enmR06TW2Ov_S2DQ30sI4Toi2Ky4Vf2r8Ett7slkpbw8pm4xyECVkeLsrABf4Z3u75/s320/P1020444.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 230px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630084469183848290" /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmCXNNOGHzLg6URPRP2mUpLbjx23ocKkOHNZk7pP2nP8vUfHjNDmgFcBPpU0Cikljii4WAuly5Uk_CUYY9CH70bqgXm5ysq78eR3uqIe8vrg11IqmCFNEx4HPb37XV-07oqOQATriZZ5H2/s320/P1020425.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630053643305036546" /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">Next came Bindi - she is a little 3-fingered baby from the Pacific coast with a funny little fluffy hair-do. She was found on the ground and with Judy's careful instructions (including finding a real life goat to collect milk from) she was cared for by a woman for the next 3 weeks until someone could get over there to bring her back.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Finally, we have Luigi ! He was brought in clinging to his dying mom and must have only been a day old. His mom passed away shortly after arriving here, and it turned out she had one normal lung, and one tiny underdeveloped lung. Sadly, the stress of giving birth probably pushed her over the edge. Little Luigi is doing great though :)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Now for a new un-slothly arrival .... Puggles ! His/her full official title is actually - Puggles the Mexican, drawf, short-haired, prehensile-tailed tree porcupine. Quite a mouthful! And she is quite a handful too, although cant be sure of the she part since we have no idea how to sex a Puggles. There is potentially even less info available on these guys than there is on sloths which is making raising her a little challenging, and also her spines are turning out challenging to avoid too. However she has these funny little back feet that stick out sideways and are a little too big giving her this comic waddle and she runs havoc. She is awesomeee !!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">I have mentioned Eddie the dog in one of my previous posts (the one who got run over by a truck and didn't even break a bone), but anyway he has had quite an eventful few months. One dark stormy night he went down to his usual spot of the lagoon to have a quiet drink when he unfortunately bumped into Coco the crocodile.... Now most dogs would have been mince-meat when faced with a 16-foot hungry beast, but not Eddie. In the morning, all we could see was a blood trail leading from the lagoon up to the house, and Eddie with a limp and tiny cut across his paw . It took a good few hours before we accidentally came across a HUGE hole in his side... then another one... and another. Then after further investigation, we found his canine tooth in the water and claw marks in the concrete leading down to the edge! To this day we have no idea what happened except the croc got a hold of him and Eddie probably bit back scaring him off, but losing a tooth in the process. This had a happy ending though with Eddie recovering super quick and not bathing in the lagoon anymore to cool off (no more stinky-ness!) What an amazing dog - he really does have a cats 9 lives!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Eddie:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfAQwCF4b-ZkuKs8gJmRcaMOjV_ox-Qfj2hKILWQBSmf8lUjWYS6NFZRN_Nyo1lIVG0SxYaUn2ilmXlY8XN0MilZEnt2feL-FX1sVsp13i5X9LX1eHTXsHCITn9KCwyTZ55kNg9CWc9sZU/s320/P1020513.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630084472911109474" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Also this month, Randy was finally released. He is the three-fingered male I have mentioned in previous posts - the one who fell from a tree and broke his arm which needed surgery and titanium screws to fix. After a long 7 months with us, he took back to the tree like he had never been away. Hopefully he will come back to visit every now and again to show us how he is doing.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Randy:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYEmME2uX0g-G1LvdULIykVurJ85sK_h3LIS7xXG4xBUjB1tLgie6-7zCkfGW9OKq_NbRUhHWzIZOeQSnl_t3lp5oEoEQeNlm58p36bVcslApq9aWz93tnrxaOcqUBu4RLoMWdenrQAKo/s320/P1020647.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630092872566717154" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Before his release, he had some very important work to do though. He was the sloth ambassador, helping ICE (telecommunication people) and MINAE (ministry for the environment in Costa Rica) design a device to stop sloths from climbing the power lines and getting electrocuted! He did a fantastic job of proving just how flexible they are and made them all go back to the drawing board to come up with a better design. Randy 1-0 ICE</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDRzVrjff6qcR3jXYnTEuRHGGrpp6qnkIS8Pfb2zhjH7liJ2yjlIRPbWckxrsl0v1AFL5r_TAhw9DtbFj4oQdtpDKoMXOJC-I4OU8gpjxj16Br2bAq2GwF190QnqfRtQ4MtzfpJ9IgCi3/s320/P1020576.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630087892339481106" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Now I will do a quick round up of other news including installing a new misting system to cool the sloths off on the super hot days (maybe we will get green algae sloths?) Also, I had a pregnancy scare with one of my study sloths, but after an x-ray it turns out she just has gas, great. Animal Planet have been back filming some more for the documentary... its going to be amazing so keep your eyes peeled. And some amazing news - Buttercup has started coming into heat again after 8 months of being unwell... she is back!! And she even remembered to do the trade-mark thing only she does when she screams - she hooks and folds her arm up over her head and holds her chin - covering both ears ! She is well and truly back to her best! More good news is that the wild 3-fingered mom and baby are still hanging round and doing great, although baby is getting big now! I have added some pictures so you can see :)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikAJpWkI4Qm6gty0kGtonO_puYNmsU8ve7H3cnB_o4CV1MZvo7zvHY7YbstfvZKqdc6AJZFN96k4ubjm78-qewHQzkhyM1QRm3WQ9bhp-FGdtJqtYWkQaEkpANEL_ddU53ZFXTVNqcfGq7/s320/photo+%25284%2529.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630087897876532594" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px; " /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Me and Phil Stebbing, filming for Animal Planet:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmsZTgjjOqA64wydFIcStFKDzV2pNTD1yGA0BygEAbmjDgwSp3QCxshqytZ1aTWBCv_aowcO2HU_mX9GOI2q5GSzPRIAMNzjCgBuA8bIwaQe9jrr0FB1MnmZV4oVCdc65PJOZsm3l0FmTM/s320/photo+%25283%2529.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630087896812137266" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Mom and baby:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7rGt-xw54O0ATklTV56zJfSgRHdBxxbLmxonH8Edjk-QcM68GRyQ_F3d5M5iZnkLsAzf_2xaH1ne-35KUDXb0QttDL5gwm46w5jVOV_xWdm9AmBOXUUTvHM2Q5ocZ5M5PH-JdyZ4fXU6/s320/P1020370.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630084461695601042" /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRLlSWA8xwPQtN5XtdiC0zXmRdcXytT7TZzVqND4M3JYCZuaKwu2X9LIKeELTUXiPxSaJ8pn_w42PcfJQhqOXd77YFYY8QIuJCH4iuxCEBN4ikd-DpxFmisPHNxro5-TrmpWYScFOtxLQF/s320/P1020386.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5630053639977964994" /></div>Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-25920905197744256872011-04-30T19:07:00.000-07:002011-05-02T09:47:57.274-07:00March AND April with the sloths !!<div align="center"><strong>Ok, so my promise to update this more often fell flat on it's face it seems- but now I have finally got round to it and I have many-a-story to tell....</strong><br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center">I will start with an update about my research - things are going great! I am just coming to the end of my second <span style="color:#ff0000;">red</span>/<span style="color:#009900;">green</span> poo chopping episode and digestion took a little longer this time: 32 and 35 days for 2 of my girls and I am still waiting on the last one! I'm not sure why this month had taken longer, it may just be a coincidence based on the fact that they only poop once a week (supposedly...although I seem to have to chop waaaay more than that) or it might somehow be related to the fact that the sun has finally come out and the rainforest has barely rained this month! My daily diaries have been out of use for the last few weeks since I had a MAJOR falling out with the batteries and they all broke simultaneously - that was a horrible day. But I now have new ones and they will be put back into use as soon as I return from my visa-run to Panama (in 3 days time...!) I also received my highest skin temperature reading this month from one of my girls - 35.8 C! This doesn't seem like much considering our core temperature rarely drops below 36, but the normal armpit temp for the sloths seems to range between 28 - 34.5 !! ... It almost appears that they struggle to keep warm - hard to imagine as I'm sweating my arse off chopping up poo pellets.<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><em>My sloth poop / leaves lab:</em> </strong></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601827224179554962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfXZEBcJ0a3pJ0N0wqBESi1wcPDXU4kf_8psbZoe6wOppGsQBXSBHLFwTyJ_t59PSsCY_9NZYeUJwHwIwN748IVvH7TIeOkSKp7DamykzXlH3G0e7uqstmliTdKpyOwXZK8DEwlhGaE1c6/s320/P1020064.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center">Anyway onto more exciting news, BABIES !! So the twins are still doing great, although they sadly managed to catch mange. This is still somewhat of a mystery considering they have had zero contact with other sloths... hmmm. Anyway they didn't seem to respond to the Achiote seed / coconut oil combo, so Judy took the brave decision to shave their fluffy baby fur off and use a sulphur / lard mixture which literally worked miracles. It sounds grim but actually looked delicious, a bit like lemon icing, almost edible. The poor babies were smothered in the stuff up to their necks, and then wrapped up in bandages to stop it rubbing off (or being licked off....!) The bandages were soon swapped for sloth pyjamas, especially hand-made from gym socks with little arm holes and a flap in case they needed to go poo. I am SO sad I didn't yet have my camera for this moment since it was possibly the cutest thing ever seen. But anyway the mange healed super quickly after this and they are now re-growing their coats. Although still look fairly bald and gangly, tangled up together in the incubator :)<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><em>Violet and Sebastian:</em><br /></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601817587329497410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6DS3zNVcgYj07EpKwhs3xYZwzlT03O9Ah1Jn6xotXPdzbUHMcS9_ZOrOfAh179pEuNqWYxCN2rqhQIR_STEpel8I2CRuf_5Mgr1wtfO38zDlm4OHJ3a4pLX3uToLj8an1XLhabAMXXtXV/s320/P1020102.JPG" /><br />Mirra is also doing well, but her pairing with Velcro has somewhat expanded. She is now a (tiny) member of a four-some, with 2 more 2-fingered babies we received this month. Toby was brought in by a lovely woman who had slept with him on her chest for 2 nights until she could find transportation to get him to the sanctuary. He is a gorgeous dark chocolate colour and super chilled out all the time. They were joined shortly by a bright blonde bombshell of a baby, also 2-fingered. He was named yesterday as Will (after the royal wedding... it seemed appropriate, although he is not yet balding!) Now little Mirra is spoilt for choice on who's ears to suckle on. Sadly, at some point she will need to be separated from her buddies since she will be moving onto a different diet.<br /></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><em>Mirra and Will:</em><br /></strong></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 258px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601817601525014226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMEj5i6x-IIazfbAlRZXPQy5lh2tPwUoewuPcN6Sa9FFmg9aO_gtXPtOOMRzkLvatlUHTAJQ3PMGnBlpq_hWL3jsiieTdP9yIDio2m0OW5NUBMRvCRIPQIVpdaCwFuPm5s1hAzfts61uuK/s320/P1020127.JPG" /></em><strong> <em>Mirra and Toby:</em><br /></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601818825113299954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0818tiS4I71-wE7WpIJw1ZmSiiCdY6p7LSxUdqVc9-ICfHxUIDL_ZSmSyAtFrtvmFa1HtQEweUr4ZnyjXM_tN2C0HEf38qPCxj5-7MU5adK9eCfPm50EmOMPsChB6dOu8_DjHfscpJ5bV/s320/P1020134.JPG" /></em></div><br /><div align="center"><em><strong>Toby, Mirra, Will and Velcro hiding in the background</strong>:</em><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601818818539436754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwAlxoggCKp_NifkJs6MXwDaMK9-1gLYReUiEuQcGXReeOqk5Sqgbrkd39HJxnwvPPTQ6nIEcSr9hvKJ9seSLbtd4oG2IE4WuxJ0o-CgXe5tzZnjiynx4uEMFDlydUKgss1c5FNXrYoBK/s320/P1020136.JPG" /></em><strong> <em>Mirra:</em><br /></strong></div><br /><div align="center"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601817591597908146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihf43cX7YCKm6kvaPlVtV0PNMq9sAObUJfd1irG3C43GizTlKgyAuoQv9Kqg75JSMgL_PslJKLmFdtQzm7u5c4MadivHZn7vMULjJe1tP-Jaj2tVNg2MIESx5_SoE41cRB6lbj3cDK1763/s320/P1020116.JPG" /><br /><br /><div align="center">Naima is a little ball of fun who arrived here a couple of weeks ago after her mom was killed by a dog. She was found dirty and scared clinging to her mums body before being brought to us by a local man. She is now super energetic and bursting with personality - although still a little bitey!<br /><br /><em><strong>Naima:</strong></em></div><br /><div align="center"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 238px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601818838370098018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpRabB4J6Z5OFKTnJdaTCAGMOaeis_dLu0x6-Iq0KNzUJMC-alVAZvANUIyzj7JHw0xai1dpon1rKNf0usLsrjOF6ZwOCRbrTqKhz8jPMJGSi6B7vZjnNkfCq5c79m6soYXeP-Gfo3chK7/s320/P1020162.JPG" /><br /><br /><div align="center">Laurel is one of our older babies who I mentioned in an earlier post (the fussy eater who would eat nothing but hibiscus leaves...) Well she has had some quite embarrassing farting problems this month! She had been doing great until one morning we found her inflated like a balloon - she was literally huge - think of the girl who blew up like a blueberry in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!!! All the gas in her stomach was putting her in some horrible pain and pressing up against her stomach causing her to burp and vomit (or try too... sloths actually can't vomit), so we knew something was seriously wrong. After much dilemma, we rushed her to the vet who knew exactly what to do - he popped her with a pin. This sounds, and looked, ridiculous but it worked perfectly! She just deflated within about 5 seconds and returned to her normal self!! We think she had eaten one too many berros (green leafy vegetable) which had fermented in her stomach causing the gas explosion. Hopefully she has learnt her lesson and won't be pulling that trick again...<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center">As well as receiving babies, we also receive adult sloths who are injured or sick. We had a strange incident this month with an adult 3-fingered female arriving in a human ambulance, complete with police escort. Her escortee's told us simply that "her legs don't work". After putting her into an enclosure, it was quite plain to see that her legs were working perfectly; we still aren't sure why she was brought in. We did however notice that she didn't seem to have any algae or sloth moths which you would expect on a wild sloth. Anyway, after careful observations we attempted to release her on the sanctuary grounds. We put her into a tree on the edge of the forest, and after watching her fumble her way slowly and clumsily up the trunk, had a terrible realisation. This sloth wasn't at home in the trees like you would expect... was she previously captive somewhere else?? This would fit in with the lack of algae... maybe she had never BEEN in a tree before! Our hearts were in out mouths as we watched her ascend into the canopy, praying she wouldn't fall! Luckily she seemed to be a quick learner and over the next few days, finally began look at home up there. She is still hanging around and we are acting guardian angels, keeping a close eye on her! </div><br /><br /><div align="center">Anyway, moving away from cute babies and farting sloths, this month has seen my mum & dad finally come out and visit! I finally took some days off and enjoyed some of the touristy things like horse riding and canopy zip-lining - all great fun! Oh and of course spent some time connecting with the inner-sloth, relaxing on some of the many paradise-beaches! </div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602126786117263586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTf_wN2CuC9u_scHKPypGqJhyphenhyphen1-hPcMtDNflRn9wMePj6jhIA9Ku95UbkcHre7Gg3dbEtq83rXZ0U9afDJDy22Yb1QTwO81h5faNaSOlQPZnocMYEwwHhUUnCu1wSFIkSUo_DOJRgcHUOy/s320/IMG_1328.JPG" /><br /><br /><div align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 304px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601825727442185378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59t8yLskF7QnM-1H9ScXkAKjVuIoM1-GsUEEMOKO3a7yFISU5_sfjtHEAvW6KuHBsxJbVeBHANlIzzVU8ePxIygJU8sAj5Seut7ZUf9BX4DbB8-OSQ8ch2BYs-ctf_mNwycMvfZMeq0qu/s320/P1020051.JPG" /></div><br /><br /><div align="center">Lucy Cook and Animal Planet finished their first filming trip successfully... I'm not aloud to spill any of the details but it went very well and they will be returning towards the end of June to continue the film. Keep your eyes peeled towards Christmas time when it is due to be aired :) </div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">At the moment I have a few exciting things in the pipeline that (fingers crossed) will work out. As well as having this research project published, I am due to write a spotlight article for New Scientist magazine on sloths at some point in the near future. Me and Judy are also speaking about writing a book - I would be doing the writing and it would mostly consist of her expert sloth-knowledge - all the incredible things that she has learnt over the years about these amazing animals that no one else knows - it is essential to get her brain recorded onto paper and published! This will no doubt take a long time but slowthfully does it ..... :)</div><br /><br /><div align="center">And finally to finish this super long post off, I am adding some pictures of all the things I have mentioned in the previous posts but haven't had a camera to get the photos! </div><br /><br /><div align="center"><em><strong>Randy:</strong></em></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601817581614193586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYG_jj16QSO0MLYG1iex64jd_ksXe0NCO4ApjpKM4-5CcJcInImudIIheD5w2VorOqCsRUzjUUKMZSy80q6vWLdbtbhqbkAEjcfiHBrcgSqeaKFn6drG3QCQJgyuFCq__9U68rwAeQoppD/s320/P1020086.JPG" /></em></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><em>Ubu wants cuddles from Rolo:</em><br /></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601827235452908114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUram33EDvCfIS-idfc9R738jTssFJtyfvQN1dG1GZjRV-VnI4aXgoaTCf5XbgZQxXfEmmHT3ajMLQ_nUm7FV2zXmjap5GiFNmD9lmUfBf4m0iyBuzfLg_mQ9-60tqWqqdUN_oroyBK_aS/s320/P1000334.JPG" /></em> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 311px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 232px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602126612033503970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw6zRdL2PiEqJlHzbEoyKpyzV5keflfVO6tUmugChIHsyCCKEGgCcSpyos1g08ku784riUjDFl3Ef-u9JoTPA9Yhw6ToJvuvILsJzBmO4si8AHEvEK8qo3nb7qwbTvEz0xqCjrKP0MYeVb/s320/P1000335.JPG" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601834441029831490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixa96Q7LSeDiE08snonY7agQJS9YkQIgJCKdv-UFGVoMeJP4NumJ0QRXhOIbn5IPB09TG1HKWKSMlMySEt-OEjWBrRq3Ve102FKqHK9J9XbPC3MI-TlfeI3i_UJWDTcsN-Nb-lhWkisSwS/s320/P1000344.JPG" /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601834450002331954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis8z9eY7XF2uC60vz_sEQJqXgwUhczXZhFhZz03vUAkmBFFUVp5J_-E-J_jqMQGR-CkP8BHg5EfD5rzmGHqEM_MmnWG-HrUXvdlXMKo9B2rATOkFJekZbEoHmV8z-KnnYXrS9t5te9iC6r/s320/P1000347.JPG" /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><em>The leaf always tastes better when it's someone else's:</em><br /></strong></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601825715636750162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsZ5yMV9sxWe97r0JbffY4rnhniFPzUZXLJcJg6uxqVuVny_735aWt_O7qpn2QO44wr6iwVduWC-o2lSJnibuC2f0JIycPFEu3UnjecDUg1Ti_Ry-odmqThk3pA5RV5G6sP8-MT7jSYKL/s320/P1020320.JPG" /></em></div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602126613110822866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULhk3SWzauaEVft0L_t-NH80TBkK9RF8LMgzsgLRZydybY7_tN2oudzm9ZcQqBJtrUiXpUcAxnZYUTZ6S6D9rVqgiwhKQRUwaHNMl85miVKRXWV1JT5H-1dBkaZcBaRreF_G4p78MSU1T/s320/P1020324.JPG" /><br /><br /><div align="center"><em><strong>Yodo:</strong></em></div><br /><div align="center"><em></em></div><br /><div align="center"><em><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 258px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601825710725827282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2o6GH_Uf3JxzzLT8WW6pZ8qUhhnurZWuJEj369kPBHeUF7zxdxa-shYvA-E3A35AKyIDp6ZQk4egQJe_emJeMZFEGTqdkWjxS5N0kenRZfKW5lUJnnV2fhcBa7_ncDNGH6YI519FA83r/s320/P1020258.JPG" /></em></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><em>Little blind Cheyenne:</em><br /></strong></div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 206px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5601818846040686594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie64ynoDxiJ6m7LHTC5jNihDnPl1tw8ehCNtb-uHNSosgZTj7AW9ytqoDLF_ZJowFFVGXzKhqcMFa01rfmal1Ku15DJXb0LLIk99R9igSXykt9w3l0lPqRVIVkEwmqKnDW8pXjQscoBrv7/s320/P1020210.JPG" />Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-28730401944602167282011-03-23T19:09:00.000-07:002011-03-25T12:45:00.281-07:00Slothing in FebI have been terrible at keeping this up to date recently... things have been busy at the sloth sanctuary!! So this is likely to be a very long post, my fingers are aching at the mere prospect of typing all of the February happenings !! Anyway, here we go :-)<br /><br />This month started with the arrival of Suzie Eszterhas; a proffesional wildlife photographer working for Ranger Rick, a Nat Geo magazine. She stayed here for several weeks taking some incredible shots of the resident sloths and also a few wild visitors. On her very first day here, one of our rehabilitated and released 3-fingered females (Esmerelda) ever so kindly gave birth, came down from her Cecropia tree, crawled right by us showing off her teeny tiny new born baby, then proceded to climb the tree directly infront of us - amazing !!! She is still hanging around (literally) giving us a nice peek at how the baby is doing every now and again.<br /><br />Also during Suzie's stay here, all of my study females managed to come into heat simulatenously, all yelling for a boyfriend - as 3-fingered females do. They stay in heat for approx 7 - 10 days, during which time they poo/pee everyday and let out very frequent, very high pitched and very loud screams, therefore attracting all the local neighbourhood boys to the sanctuary. We must have had almost 15 wild males decend on my girls over the course of one day !! Now this is great for Suzie, but a problem for manyyy reasons. Firstly, they have a habit of groping my girls through the cages, and I DONT want a pregnant lady sloth in my study (nor do we want pregnant captive sloths full stop). Another problem is that my females are clearly so irresistable that the invading males tend to either rape / attack any other sloth they come across. This was terrible news for Esmerelda and her baby since she was harrased by a fierce 'rapey' male for days. All this tension in the air ment that sloth fights were erupting everywhere, and when two males fight the aim seems to be to throw the other one out the tree. Unfortuntely it rained male sloths for a couple of days. This is a horrible thing to watch happen, but luckily most of the fall-ees were perfectly fine, just a bruised ego.<br /><br /><div align="center"><em>One of the wild males determined to get into my room (never keep sloth poop in your room)</em> </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="right"></div><div align="left"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587485300729483394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IMR962HQYmupDqmMNrD4qTzwKJ2xQF8952XnUtcxZMH0FE2W1xZcn1q3ydzBr14r6bcWKMTPmuhYCmxphUKItoBTocrI_GCP8Sbcbaw9M4CU9XbpZlUfeDKKE13H4kBiX8LJMnxuLIzX/s320/DSC00312.JPG" />Volunteers who have been to the sanctuary may be familiar with Randy. He is a wild male that so frequently visits the females he has been named approprately. Obviously, he was on the scene during all the unfolding female drama, but was clearly a lover not a fighter since he sadly was thrown out of his tree during a sloth brawl. As he fell, he hit a branch on the way down, completely smashing all the bones in his upper arm (it was hanging as the most sickening angle ...). He valiently attempted to climb back up the tree, but our staff scooped him up and brought him into the slothpital. The sanctuary couldn't leave him in such a state so sent him on a holiday to San Jose with our vet, Marcelo, for surgery. He is now the proud owner of one bald, titanium-held-together arm sporting impressive scars. The good news is that he is well on the road to recovery and after his final X-ray in April, he will be released back into the forest to be randy once again. </div><br />While speaking of release, we released the 2-fingered female fondly known as 'Mom' this month. She arrived almost 7 months ago with a baby and a badly infected dog bite on her shoulder. The wound was treated and she regained full use of her arm but sadly rejected her baby in the process (who is still here and doing fine). After a few complications with the healing, she was ready to go and is now a happy resident of one of the Almond tree's on the sanctuary grounds.<br /><br />Now the part that everyone loves the best ... babies !!! The twins that I mentioned in my last post are doing brilliantly (named Sebastian and Violet) - they are adorable. To add to the pile of cuteness, on valentines day we recieved the smallest little bundle of fluff on record; a tiny tiny new born 3-fingered baby weighing just 149g and measuring a minute 12cm from nose to teeny tiny tail. She is named Mirra (short for miracle) and is fully formed and perfectly healthy! New borns aren't usually that small, so we think she was probably a twin who was rejected as the weaker one. She is happily paired up with another very small baby recieved this month named Velcro (he is clingy...) but is a 2-fingered, making a very cute pairing.<br /><br />Half way through the month, we had a group of people bring us an adult 3-fingered female with a baby. They were found on the ground cold and wet, so were brought in to be checked over. It turned out that the female was fine, she had just fallen and gotten too cold to climb back up the tree. On first inspection the baby seemed fine, but upon release she rejected him. He was brought back here and I took him out for a walk - only to notice something a little special - he had no coordination what-so-ever and his left side was very tense and stiff. I took him to see if he could climb which turned out to be a complete disaster - he definately can't climb. We think that he bashed his head when he fell, meaning that, like a human after a severe head injury, he has spasticity. This means that when he tries to clamber about, he can at best only use 3 of his legs, and completely misses the bars with each grab. More often than not he holds onto himself, then lets go with his other arm thinking he is holding on .... so I am always there to catch him. Despite this though, he is doing very well and I take him out daily to practice his climbing technique - He is lovingly now known as Cory.<br /><br /><div align="center"><em>Me and Cory:</em><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587480414159718690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1N9Zc-EMZQixT7EI1C3veJ_BgbSaoIpElw7of97BaXrZBhNn5IP52krXAzmygTYK_LR2JBIxCR1xonBlszgHJpXrICuFh4ez3jfeVDa4d-KlHhrKrCsY87Xr1hVugj6QhoGOsYQyJmBZU/s320/A87I2825.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587480420415987298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSEVcOml1Pxd5PslGFqf_TUP5hg7zd_WdhFo6M3P4ALib_eRgANN__J6f6LUeUW6byeNyLA13ZOJhBS5fjH_cxmb9IhQJ_zRTu2rsytRbpAbji-REKlFoI_3B8NocXRv2mqt04AqIz2tN4/s320/A87I2811.jpg" /><br />Ok onto my project. I GOT RED POO !!! (very exciting moment for me). It turns out I shouldn't have been looking for a pile of bright red pellets, but when I chop them in half, the inside changes from a normal green colour to a red-ish brown when the dye is present. I discovered this after giving more dye to all my 3 girls, then using a sharp knife to open up every pellet individually. I was able to seperate the pieces into either red or green and make percentages of dye-pellets to normal-pellets. And the news you have all been waiting for - it took 25, 27 and 30 days for my 3 females to produce lovely all green poops for me !!! Thats a long time spent digesting ..... amazing !!!! I am now preparing to repeat this and will be giving them another tasty drink of carmine red over the next couple of days.<br /><br />I had a minor disaster with the daily diaries - a couple of my batteries broke, meaning I was a battery short. So for the last few days Jewel has been device-less while we arrange new battery packs to be sent out. Apart from this though, everything is going perfectly and I am getting some very interesting data! For starters it seems they can control their body temperature much better than previously stated in the literature!<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><em>Poo collection!</em></div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587484430312350210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigfH91LXZoIb5zlbRO1MjHjvNTUcPhyphenhyphenT4a8RJn7NMM3hZxQd2513w7cdVrzzZGJgaMa93nC_a6h0hds_fO0waTnRsoI4oovqfugUhmxjokPCfGdrVr1hVTn5tcjXcAUaH2sIAxSeIFYMyt/s320/A87I6565.jpg" /><br /><p align="center"><em>Me with Jewel:</em></p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587481722113519570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwQPPY_D8JMMZ_zp5JnPfxdTpJYgwGBMnFu2e7mzmqKDTcaCGAugyFJ2uwX7GRL-XrTcIihC8gUTHPRhvxFJk7cGsPCTgrB76YS2H6C2YCNTAWVhaNXvWwFU4rcRIpmzTTQ0H0uwduX9Y/s320/A87I3598.jpg" /></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587481719026298914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggkFeMUTV7BMwf605sPQDaNpwZQDZBXQ-gOQW2hsUAxhyphenhyphen0iDpvELTSDYv717zNrj6JxgyVrvGAlzVEOmGxxbhrWG_0p12TTAwQcJeFrmY9aGnHxsoqZMvsBg87NOh20BpX_tFdARqgTeOO/s320/A87I3551.jpg" /><br /><div>So as of today, Animal Planet are here to start filming a sloth sanctuary documentary. The producer, Lucy Cook has some very exciting things in the pipeline so keep your eyes peeled towards the end of the year when it will be aired (globally if all goes to plan)!</div><p align="center"><em>This is how you get an unwilling 2-fingered sloth out a box .... flowers. Lots of sloth chocolate flowers.</em></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587480406181794178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXe_-0qLK1G6_LRGlHUC8gvhNqN6Vx2N6xX5WPtT31n1v71YYml_8tWX00HKKtreEgZNpR1wJpgwyCl_02pGCiJe-VfPpGcnW51Ye3_gPHdAZZmTwc2UC3YiT8FI7jzXhdRRAqgjmMdenU/s320/DSC00280.JPG" /><br /><div>I dont yet have pictures of some of the new babies etc since my camera is still off being fixed. But I am expecting it back over the next couple of weeks so when I do, I will add many-a cute picture !! </div><br /><div>I hope all is well with everyone, I WILL write this more often in future to avoid this super long essay situation ..</div><br /><div>P.S. my mange is still raging. </div>Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-90166611543638585932011-02-13T19:07:00.000-08:002011-02-13T19:10:07.242-08:00Sloth research fundraiser !!!Check it out ... <a href="http://www.crowdrise.com/thedailydiary/fundraiser/sandrabirnhak">http://www.crowdrise.com/thedailydiary/fundraiser/sandrabirnhak</a>Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025152432495006986.post-89329523810030609892011-01-22T15:08:00.000-08:002011-01-24T14:14:47.860-08:00January updateSo January began with my carmine red dye finally arriving and my project finally beginning! My first attempt at getting the dye into them involved me not feeding them for 12 hours (so they were super hungry) then smearing it over hibiscus flowers and trying to get them to eat it. This failed miserably since they clearly could smell it and thought it was a bit unusual. I then tried to spread it across Cecropia leaves which also failed, but less so. Brenda ate a few but that's about it. Then to my surprise Jewel developed a taste for the dye-covered flowers and ate a good amount. I decided that this was a pretty bad method so with Judy's help, I let them eat their lunch then syringe fed the dye as a liquid. Turns out they quite liked the taste and drank plenty enough to do the job. I have been collecting and mashing the poo ever since - waiting for it to turn red! But I have no idea what to expect so it's fairly nerve racking. It has been 2 weeks since they were given the carmine red, and as of yet, the poo is still a lovely brown / green colour. Who knows what is going to happen ... ! Oh and also, Brenda has developed a worrying habit of shoving her head through the roof of her enclosure and getting it stuck there. At which point she just flails around uselessly kylestyle and waits for me to come and save the day. I hope she quits this game soon.<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div></div><div><em>Felice settling into her new enclosure: </em><em><br /></div></em><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 230px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565184846511739906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVXJ4Rd6xlO-IodRmpFYiIgIUgKcteFaUVUyIfY6-yEdLCt2mQ3PP_tXQE6JGaHTf3-iH4W8UaObkbp3oqQDJ90g-vcw1Sme4G4ffIhqIHgtQlBTx0iIQUtTutmpLKckyK2GJgebVJi6A/s320/P1010584.JPG" /></div><div><em>Jewel and the signs I have now put up:</em></div><div><em></em></div><div><em></em></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565184842345041778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgztgx8PhvCopKmIQSP0smX_yP0bCiLX0EQADAGKtN36cvc-3STAbm_RwZZOC0HHsxDQ8EurQ6lbK0MJa53l2jXj7haUddgxnYcLxL8CFJs9sG00ZgkkljNST6etM_-qC6athfQAmf1ySRJ/s320/P1010591.JPG" /></div><div><br /></div><div>About 2 weeks ago, we received a tiny new born baby brought to us by a police officer. Its mother had been giving birth in a park in Limon when some children began to stone her. She was so traumatised by everything going on that the baby fell straight from her, ripping the umbilical cord as he went. The police collected him from the bottom of the tree and brought him here, but sadly didn't prosecute the children, or save the mother. Judy and Marcelo stitched up the tiny babies' stomach as I held it's little hands, but sadly he died overnight, probably from injuries sustained through the fall.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>More sad baby news - Over the last 2 weeks we have also lost Athena, Puca and Jacque Noel (the new baby born in December). I miss them LOTS, they were all super sweet, kylestyle. Me and Marcelo did the Necropsy's for all those who died recently as well as Topo Gigio. All the babies seemed to have aspirated milk and Topo has fluid in his lungs. It's still a bit of a mystery what happened, but I'm sure the recent 'cold' spell didn't help. Jacque Noel always had the Apnea problem where he would stop breathing after every feed, but we always hoped he would grow out of it - sadly not. But in true sloth style, with every loss we seem to be brought a new baby. </div><div></div><div></div></div><div></div><div>We recieved a new one a couple of days ago, now named Yodo. He was rescued after his tree was chopped down killing his mum. A family held on to him for a couple of days and unfortunately gave him cows milk, so as of yet, we dont know if he is going to make it. Today, we found a whole bunch of ticks on him and I had the job of pulling them all off with tweezers - all 70 of them !!! Looks like they had babies. Here are a couple of pictures:</div><div></div><div></div><div><em>Claire starting the de-ticking process:</em></div><div><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565552381080600722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-FyIWT9V9C7NntH5c1P2LdMvB8ueHuMfKUhj_xxvWtisFBVmW35UCkYLpQ6Kbvbc4707WWAXkaFZswueNhGX8chJG-wdRSilP8R9uDuD2Qx0OlnTGxAMzXZlxjcsrH1PBvFCQAErqfcH/s320/DSC00237.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565552379096147826" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_AdXbxAdAeN-pEWGbxO13wA5p8FgfHFyUYDk11IhZL9eq1OSBQFCGuTj552uVePZe2k6tcCt6AX81BmTVB3TXUApXO2MjtWxR5_BDGs6Is6hzClyp3WSJGsGtaVZiq5aQ0bxmR9NKKRy/s320/DSC00241.JPG" /> <div></div><div></div><div>Laurel is the baby I mentioned in the last post that would eat nothing but hibiscus - she is doing well and has finally started accepting almond leaves. However after weighing her we think she is probably only around 6 or 7 months old - far too young to know how to survive on her own. But she is super happy and eating well ! Timothy is another slightly older baby brought to us from Cahuita. He too was found on the ground, cold and very hungry! After eating A LOT he collapsed and had probably his best sleep for a long time! We have handled him as little as possible since to try and help him settle in, but today we inspected him and found a huge dog bite across his stomach. No wonder he was so scared. It looks ok though and will be stitched up as soon as possible.</div><div></div><div>Finally, Lola was brought to us by a woman not far away. She had found her alone, but had then kept her and tried to raise her for about 4 weeks. During this time she phoned Judy for advice and was convinced to bring the baby in for proper care. When she got here she was starving to death and dehydrated. She settled in after a few days and loved her goats milk and carrots- she was putting on weight nicely. Then today the same woman turned up demanding her baby back - we have no power to say no so despite our best efforts to persuade her otherwise, she took poor Lola back. I have no doubt we will see her again, I just hope she doesn't wait until it's too late to save her. </div><div><br /></div><div>So despite all this, most of the sloths are doing well - except for the recent mange outbreak !!! It's hugely common in sloths and we get wild ones coming in to us all the time covered in it. Mange is basically a type of parasitic mite that burrows into the skin and causes a huge itchy mess. Even I have managed to catch it, even though it is supposed to be species specific - I am now a TRUE sloth wrangler. Today we decided it was time to get rid of it from the babies before it spreads any further. Unfortunately, we can't give them Ivermectin which is what any other animal would be given. So we use natural remedies - which has had a quite funny outcome. We mixed Achiote seeds with coconut oil, forming a bright red oily dye that we massaged into the skin. So we now have a whole bunch of permanently BRIGHT red sloth babies, and a bright red buttercup. It looks ridiculous. I had to include some photos -</div><div></div><div></div><div><em>Ubu after his dye treatment:</em></div><div><em></em></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 297px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565546060999106258" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslevAn-fT7CnsAY_vQvPEx6_bG3whZhNvj3CXMPZ-UmKkQyBPOKS8SoDujiVgLQa2xyb_n0jkLxVYxobsL2EYcSQxh0P1aCOwqD6F_qRt_DD2mRiUV-9juXwJ1MjKnk6lVvM81DZ8gEb4/s320/P1010576.JPG" /> </div><div><em>Me and Ubu:</em></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 217px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565552375222853890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho34cMVQDnZO7bazWcN-0O86YrHfwyR-U02Yd-mezFqqm4qBsTl0GfbXoc2zSd7UgkpLiiPiVLgSAi-zSWMe1wqm5BzZj6IwnKALUMDWHwwwpQLiKYvfAfUSNhUVzySNhLzU0aRUay2bWJ/s320/DSC00250.JPG" /><br /><em>Poco:</em><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 305px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565546051627498322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFk8UpbLXUce6uC3TTqX1CGCkKX6mLiyISWoD3W6mOArMU9T93L7XztK2GBNreZ4z54bGEUD68doWTqLlmTB26Fd7MgiYIgoy_Lpx3V7Z9b43pV9DESVEnF9TWSO_QYHWLRsJyOh1I-mDD/s320/P1010557.JPG" /><br /><div></div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565184851103679778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrImtJR5L0RIlV_oShP9MVeZruL3VkNvO10dFt9gpMv2O0Bliy98GLYpmZY9ihv0xkOvDmfcC_3aFv3xqncMhIKlsLs4yqwGAAEH6Mte1rS4U1kVFqu9mKQK3xtWw0BC0r5WiZUFjHXHaO/s320/P1010555.JPG" /></div><div><em>Stephanie and Cosmo :</em></div><div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565546046323376946" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2VXITPsHQ3cIM__on1x4FR4ESUcFyX2JmFI1i6p5JiEpJBDoK7ZiNPmLZ6K3xeGgARJFeEbxGW9i7b5V9L6YtrXBkFTvvwCJax8FugqNPQm4nJcP1YGuDpsSpS7gS7P5l-_6w-P4iDHZ/s320/DSC00246.JPG" /></div><div>So all in all January (so far) has been a fairly dramatic and rainy month - although the sun has come out this last week and given us some beautiful weather finally! Despite all the drama though, the last 2 months have probably been the best yet ... I have met some amazing people and my project is finally looking up :-) </div><div><br /></div><div>Lets all please keep our fingeres crossed for red poo in 2 weeks time ....</div></div></div></div></div>Becky Cliffehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15597030620481674870noreply@blogger.com5