Exploring Nature: 11 Sloth Sanctuaries Around the World - #8 Is Literally Paradise!

5. Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary, Costa Rica: A Legacy of Compassion

One of the first and most revered sanctuaries devoted to these unusual animals, the Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary is situated on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and holds a particular place in the field of sloth conservation. Judy Avey-Arroyo and her late husband, Luis Arroyo, started the sanctuary in 1992; it started as a modest family business and has since expanded into a world-class sloth rescue, rehabilitation, and research centre.

Aviarios stands out for its long-standing dedication to sloth welfare as well as for its major advances of knowledge of sloth biology and behaviour. The sanctuary has cared for hundreds of sloths over years; many of them have been safely returned into the wild. The way the sanctuary treats injured or orphaned sloths addresses their long-term physical and psychological well-being in addition to their immediate medical requirements. Aviarios has created specific care routines that sloth sanctuaries all around now use as normal procedures. Among the most amazing features of Aviarios is its "Slothpital," a modern medical centre devoted to ill and injured sloths.