Unique Animal Sanctuaries To Visit In Beautiful Costa Rica

Costa Rica is well known for its lush rainforests and beaches, on both the Pacific and Caribbean Oceans. It is also renowned for its volcanoes and protected jungle, offering some of the best ecotourism in the world. Meanwhile, as part of Costa Rica’s efforts to protect the environment and the creatures within it, the country has two of the most unusual animal sanctuaries in the world. When on vacation in the Central American country, make a plan to visit the animal sanctuaries and support them as much as you can, even when back home.

Territorio de Zaguates (Land of Strays) – Alajuela, Costa Rica

The first animal sanctuary isn’t for wildlife and is more about those animals that should be man’s best friend. Like many countries, Costa Rica has many stray dogs, with an estimated one million looking for a home. Meanwhile, the Central American country decided to criminalize euthanasia and to rather neuter the dogs instead. However, while many stray dogs are taken into shelters and end up in a loving home many people prefer to choose pedigreed dogs rather than mixed-breed mutts.

Dogs running free

Despite this, a couple decided to start Territorio de Zaguates (Land of Strays) as an alternative dog rescue center. Instead of the pups being kept in cages and looking unhappy, this animal shelter lets all the dogs run free on the spacious property. Here, there is no priority for so-called special breed dogs. Instead, the veterinarians try to give the former strays their own original pedigree. Through this, the dog shelter has attracted a lot of interest for its charming breeds, like the “Furry Pinscher Spaniel” and the “Freckled Terrierhuahua.”

A documentary was made some time ago, where the head veterinarian spoke of their unique “special breeds,” saying they only exist in Costa Rica. After the public watched the documentary, many people contacted the shelter, wanting to adopt these unusual breeds. Some wanted the “Long-Legged Irish Schnaufox,” while others wanted to adopt the “Fire-Tailed Border Cocker.”

According to Atlas Obscura, these made-up pedigrees accomplished a lot for Territorio de Zaguates. First of all, the shelter drew attention to the fact that pedigreed dogs are a human invention. Secondly, it was made known that pedigreed dogs tend to live shorter lives than these “special breeds.”

Moreover, the shelter holds sponsored hiking events, where locals and visitors alike can hike with the dogs on mountain trails close by. What better way to spend days of a vacation, than hiking in beautiful nature, surrounded by loving and happy dogs?

Naturally, visitors are welcome to adopt a dog, but also to sponsor individual dogs to help pay for their food and care. Readers can learn more about Territorio de Zaguates in the documentary included below and also visit the animal shelter’s website for more information.

Sloth Sanctuary (Aviarios del Caribe – Centro de rescate de perezosos) – Limon, Costa Rica

This second sanctuary protects and rehabilitates the cute, three-toed sloths of Costa Rica. These fascinating creatures are becoming an endangered species, either from loss of habitat or from poachers selling them as pets.

Meanwhile, they often lose their mothers, leaving the cute creatures all alone. The Sloth Sanctuary takes in the orphaned sloths and cares for them. Moreover, they also study the animals to perfect the research on their habitats throughout Costa Rica.

However, the Sloth Sanctuary started in 1992 in an unusual way. The owners of a small hotel outside the town of Limon were gifted an orphaned sloth, named Buttercup. Taking in the cute animal made the owners decide to stop running a bed and breakfast, and to do more for the many orphaned sloths in Costa Rica. These days, they take in the sloths and care for them, while helping them to eventually adjust to normal life in the wild.

Educating the public about orphaned sloths

In fact, the sanctuary has hand-reared more than 100 orphaned sloths since 1997. Meanwhile, they also work with other animal rescue centers and zoos. Moreover, the Sloth Sanctuary built a new learning center to educate the public on the dangers of lost habitat for the sloths. This came at a time when new power lines were being installed all over Costa Rica, leading to mother sloths abandoning their young.

These days, the sanctuary has a nursery, clinic and quarantine center and hopes to partner with wildlife researchers worldwide. This will include a sloth adoption program. Naturally, this won’t mean that people can take the sloths home as pets. It is rather a program where concerned people from around the world can support individual sloths.

When visiting Costa Rica, travelers can visit the orphaned sloths in the sanctuary. The Sloth Sanctuary is located 22 mi south of Limon, and 6.2 mi from Cahuita National Park. Readers can book a tour of the sanctuary here.