What is the journey of the sloth? Where does their story begin? To answer these questions and so much more, today we’re sitting down with Tinka Plese, the mother of sloth conservation. Tinka was first introduced to sloths in the 90s after moving to Colombia from Croatia and finding two badly injured sloths that needed rescuing. After receiving no help from professionals, she took it upon herself to learn everything there was to know about the mammals, from their biology, to their rehabilitation, release, and conservation. She started the Aiunau Foundation in the early 2000s, and since then has released countless sloths back into the wild, starred in documentaries, and has shared her knowledge all across Central and South America with conservation centers hoping to successfully rehab and release sloths. Tinka is also a member of the IUCN Anteater, Sloth & Armadillo Specialist Group (if this group rings a bell for you, there’s a good reason. We’ve now had on four IUCN Xenarthran specialists). 

While sloths have been discussed a couple of times on the show, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring you stories from a wildlife conservation pioneer. Be sure to share this episode and any of the show’s former sloth episodes this Saturday to spread sloth conservation awareness from the experts that know these animals the best!

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