Río Bartolo

The canal we explored on our jungle cruise in Costa Rica was lush and full of life. The brackish water was brown because it’s fed by mountain streams and it’s been raining.

We saw so many trees: almond, carob, ylang ylang, mango, and more. Beautiful birds dabbled along the water’s edge. I was especially thrilled to see a flock of toucans.

We saw a mother crocodile nestled in the weeds with her baby, but the biggest thrill was seeing sloths snoozing in the trees.

Our guide told us sloths only poop once a week, and that they come to the ground for this. If they plan to stay in the same tree, they bury their scat like a cat. This is to keep from advertising their whereabouts to predators.

If they plan to move to a new tree, they leave their feces uncovered as a way to mislead predators.

Who knew there was so much strategy to this!Read more