Well it seems I have already broken my own promise to myself to be a consistent blogger this year ---- I'm TERRIBLE with resolutions and am actively trying to better myself, bear with me.
I just got back from a 2 week vacation I mean research trip in Costa Rica and man was I exhausted. My professor was invited to join another research team to help a masters and PhD student collect locomotion data from sloths in October, but that trip was postponed due to COVID-19 for early March instead. I had asked him to pay for me to join him but he refused so I had to find other ways to fund my vacation....
I was able to pull together a case and got a $5000 grant to accompany him to the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica to conduct some kinematic and kinetic research on bradypus variegatus or the three toed sloths.
I spent about eight days hugging I MEAN WORKING with sloths... just, just look at JoJo! Those eyes get me every. single. time. Essentially our goal was to understand how these animals load their limbs during different types of locomotion - from their usual suspensory walking, to vertical climbing, and even army crawling on the ground - and also try to tie in muscle activation. My professor and I were in charge of forces, which required us to build a variety of apparatuses to mount the force plate (this digital scale like device that captures movement in 3 planes), while the other students focused on the kinematics (joint angles) and electromyography (EMG) for muscle activation.
Having had no building experience before, I was just hoping not to get in my professor's way. Fieldwork requires so much creativity, because you need to build everything using whatever is out there. We had to "forage" for strong enough building material and find optimal locations to mount all our apparatuses. Luckily Dr. G is something close to a savant when it comes to building, and he was extremely patient in teaching me how to use all the power tools and showing me how to create secure builds.
We woke up every morning to the sound of howler monkeys around 4 AM, and I'd say 6/8 days, I only slept about 4 hours a night. Building began at dawn, before the sun even came up and we'd finish up around 5-6 when the sun finally went down.
Since we had to share the force plate with the other team, Dr. G and I tried to optimize time by starting earlier, working through lunch, and sometimes working later too. We ended up being able to collect enough data for probably 5-6 papers, which made me really happy, albeit being exhausted. Our nights were for the most part nights out on the town with the other research team at the center of Caribbean-Hispanic fusion cities with incredible food and fun vibes.
In all honesty, I am and have never been an animal person. While kids might have loved zoos, or reading books about animals, I liked puzzles, reading fiction love novels, and playing street hockey. I never took an interest in learning about animals, naming animals, or even really wanting to interact with animals. I think for this reason, other than the posh-ish way I dress to go to school everyday, Dr. G was a little nervous about taking me to this country to work with animals.
To his and my own surprise, I actually ADORED working with these sloths. I don't know what clicked, but when asked who wanted to be in charge of handling the animals, my hand shot up and I became the sloth mom for the week. I was so so so surprised by how human like these animals really were.
At first I struggled even telling any of them apart other than overt size differences, but as I spent more and more time with them I picked up on each of their own personalities, sass, and attitude. I especially bonded with JoJo, partially because he was the friendliest sloth in house, but also because I could always count on him for hugs!! Joël on the right here was a real diva, really great experimental animal but man SO difficult to get off his perch and into my hands, really made me work for it every time.
This was the lovely family that runs the sanctuary in CR!!
After we finished up data collection, we spent an extra 4-5 days touring parts of Costa Rica that I had never been before. Some of my favorite memories were a night river excursion where our friend Nacho rowed us out around sunset and we ended at a delta, built a fire, and then went caiman hunting when it was dark, walking through rainforests, and rafting. It was an incredible experience, and the country is full of kind, loving and warm souls. I hope I get to go back soon, pura vida!
Thanks for reading!! dee ღ
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