Face of a sloth among large leaves
Animals,  Colombia,  Postcards from the road

A postcard from Colombia: a three-toed sloth in a city park

February 17, 2023 / 48 Comments
Face of a sloth among large leaves
Three-toed sloth in the Parque Centenario, Cartagena

A three-toed sloth

Last February we travelled to Costa Rica, hoping (among other things) to see sloths. And we did. But it never occurred to me to hope to see them in one of Colombia’s biggest cities.

Yet in a small park in Cartagena, the Parque Centenario, we found not only a small troop of tamarin monkeys but also a family of three-toed sloths.

This isn’t a zoo, the sloths and monkeys are free to come and go. But of course they don’t go because the park is a small island of greenery in a sea of bricks and concrete. It is fairly unassuming; you wouldn’t think to visit were it not for the wildlife. And I was surprised how easy it proved to spot the sloths. You simply need to walk through the park looking at the other people. If anyone is looking up into the trees, taking a photo, then chances are they are looking at a sloth! There were also a few helpful local guys are hanging around, who seemed happy to point out the animals without expecting a tip, again to my surprise.

I haven’t been able to find much information about the animals and how they come to be her. However according to Culture Trip ‘they were rescued and released in the park years ago’.

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