Get to Know Your Costa Rican Spirit Animal: The Sloth
The sloth, which inhabits trees across Costa Rica, may be the slowest mammal on Earth, but its adorable appearance, relaxed personality, and enviable sedentary lifestyle have won the affection of thousands of people in Costa Rica and around the world - in other words, sloths have become the Internet’s new spirit animal. For this reason, the Costa Rica Tourism Board has called on the sloth to save overworked and under-vacationed Americans by inviting them to Costa Rica, the perfect human sanctuary for those suffering from vacation deprivation.
Costa Rica has a long history of being a sanctuary for endangered species like the sloth. They can be easily sighted throughout the country’s 28 national parks, but they are the main attraction at Manuel Antonio National Park, located in the province of Puntarenas. There, sloths generate the admiration of 380,000 tourists that visit the park every year, as they can be seen hanging from tree branches, eating, moving slowly or simply sleeping.
Several entities in Costa Rica have also committed to taking care of these beloved creatures. The Sloth Sanctuary in the province of Limon and Costa Rica Animal Rescue Center in the province of Alajuela rescue, rehabilitate and research sloths with the goal of releasing them to their natural habitat.
As an important symbol of Costa Rica’s conservation efforts, it was natural for the Costa Rica Tourism Board to select the sloth as an ambassador to overworked Americans in its “Save the Americans” campaign. In the music video, the sloth, along with its other animal friends, warns Americans that their hectic work habits are endangering both their minds and bodies. The animals of Costa Rica are determined to give Americans – who leave over 500 million vacation days unused every year (according to the 2013 Expedia.com Vacation Deprivation Study) – a reprieve from their vacation deprivation by inviting them to relax in Costa Rica.
Learn more about the campaign on www.savetheamericans.org. More information on Costa Rica can be found at www.visitcostarica.com