By Alejandro Rigatuso, Fundador y Director de Fundación Loros·Reviewed by Alejandro Rigatuso
On Wednesday, the 13th of May, the EPA returned to the tropical dry forest what had always belonged to it: an adult male three-toed sloth, rescued and rehabilitated by that same agency, ready to resume his life among the branches. The moment they set him down at the foot of a yarumo, the animal climbed with an agility that belies his reputation for slowness, his long curved claws gripping the pale bark of the trunk as he pulled himself toward the canopy.
From up there, he paused. He turned his head with that unmistakable calm of his and looked downward — toward Alejandro, toward the EPA officers, toward the children from Colegio Avante who had come to the sanctuary that day as part of an environmental education program. The orange and black patch along his back caught the light, gleaming through the foliage. No one can say what he saw from up there, but those who were standing below all agreed: it seemed as though he held our gaze for a long while before finally deciding to move on.
About the author
Alejandro Rigatuso · Fundador y Director de Fundación Loros
Alejandro Rigatuso arrived at Fundación Loros after years as Vice President of Growth Marketing at Toptal, bringing with him an unconventional perspective: he knows an animal is well by its eyes, "bright, wide open." Lorenzo, the first parrot released, recaptured several times and always set free to fly again, marked him forever. At dusk, around five-thirty, you'll find him at the Mirador de las Ciénagas or wandering around Cerro El Peligro, envisioning observation towers and hundreds of native parrots soaring over a reserve that an entire community calls their own.
