With her ground-breaking research at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica, the host of Discovery Channel’s Meet the Sloths aims to shed light on the misunderstood (and much-maligned) smiling sweethearts.
As a young child, Becky Cliffe shunned the TV set in favour of being outside, collecting assorted creepy crawlies for what she called her “bug boxes.” Today, she’s featured on the Discovery Channel’s Meet the Sloths, where she’s seen exploring the Costa Rican forest, tracking the fascinating and elusive wild sloth, an animal about which very little is known.
After graduating with first class honours in Zoology from the University of Manchester, Becky was selected for a one-year research placement at the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica to learn and work alongside the sanctuary’s founder, Judy Avey-Arroyo. Judy started the sanctuary accidentally over 20 years ago when she decided to foster and raise Buttercup, a favourite of the sanctuary’s visitors and the one who’s featured regularly on Meet the Sloths. When she first arrived, Becky soon realized how little was known about sloths. Even their life expectancy remains a mystery.
Observing the sloth up close quickly proved to Becky that the little that was known about sloths was the stuff of myth and legend. Named after one of the Seven Deadly Sins, sloths often face physical abuse at the hands of superstitious locals. “All their problems come from humans,” Becky concedes.
“You wake up with a plan in mind but then none of it happens,” she chuckles. There are over 140 sloths at the sanctuary at any given time. Injured sloths need help with feeding and grooming; the orphaned babies need their climbing practice; emergencies that are called in at all hours of the day or night need immediate response from the team. Now studying for her PhD in Zoology, Becky has initiated the Sloth Backpack Project, which outfits wild sloths with tracking devices, so she spends a good part of the day tracking her sloths. Becky hopes that by learning more about their behaviour in the wild, the sanctuary’s hand-reared sloths can one day safely be returned to their natural habitat.
Want a career like Becky’s?
1) Nurture your passion for the natural world around you. Becky had her “bug boxes.” What do you have?
2) Make and take the time to learn more about what interests you. Read books. Volunteer at an animal shelter. Visit a local science centre. Ask questions. Join clubs and if there’s no club to join, start one!
3) Share your newfound knowledge in a blog or article for the school newspaper.
4) Be flexible and open to alternate paths in your life. There are countless study and career options, as well as internships, scholarships or, like Becky, chances to travel and research.