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The Sloth Rescue Center

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 May 2009 14:59

(Also known as Aviarios del Caribe)

Location: 3 miles north of Cahuita, on the Southern Caribbean Coast

Elevation:sea level

Read more about the South Caribbean Tourism Region

About / History:

Aviarios del Caribe (The Sloth Rescue Center) is the only sloth research center in the world, and is located right here in Costa Rica.

The Sloth Rescue Center rescues and rehabilitates injured sloths and cares for those that have been separated from their mothers. Their main objective, aside from caring for a growing number of resident sloths (more than 75), is to educate the public about the sloth and to expose the truth about these creatures.

The Sloth Rescue Center is a privately-owned wildlife sanctuary in the Estrella River Delta near the southern Caribbean town of Cahuita. Several sloths live in their educational facility, where visitors can closely observe them. Visitors can have their picture taken with Buttercup, the first and most famous sloth at the center. Guided hikes and canoe tours are available through the center's canals where more than 320 species of birds have been recorded.

Aviarios-del-Caribe-sloth Aviarios del Caribe has both species of sloth that are found in Costa Rica, the two-fingered sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) and the three-fingered sloth (Bradypus variegatus).

Every year, several sloths who have been injured or separated from their mothers are brought to the center. Those that cannot be returned to the wild due to injuries become permanent residents at the sloth center. The center largely depends on donations to meet the needs of its growing sloth population.

Visit the Sloth Rescue Center on our travel blog