The Animal Who Refuses to Be Studied

Scientists and conservationists across Costa Rica work tirelessly understanding two-toed and three-toed sloths, yet sloth research remains in infancy with majority of biological science occurring only within last 10 years and enormous knowledge gaps persisting.

Dr. Mike Butcher, professor of zoology and biomechanics, investigates sloth inverted locomotion at Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica using electromyography (EMG) and motion capture technology to understand which muscles activate during upside-down branch walking.

Jojo the sloth and other captive research subjects demonstrate remarkable non-cooperation during biomechanical experiments, doing literal opposites of researcher intentions at every turn despite careful experimental design.

Dr. Becky Cliffe’s Sloth Conservation Foundation team uses VHF (Very High Frequency) radio collars on wild sloths enabling consistent monitoring despite extreme camouflage making observational research impossible on these masters of secrecy.

Sloth researchers endure brutal dense tropical rainforest conditions spending hours with mosquitoes swarming faces, snakes, spiders, ants, and general hostile environment where “everything wants to hurt you” while attempting to visually locate radio-collared individuals.

Sloths suffered centuries of negative perception as “vermin”—considered dirty, dangerous, stupid animals with people throwing rocks at them, children taught to fear long claws, and general population misunderstanding their biology and behavior.