After the 1991 Limon earthquake ended their birding tourism business , Judy Avey-Arroyo and her husband Luis Arroyo built a hotel on their property . In 1992 , three girls brought the Arroyos an orphaned baby three-toed sloth . At the time , very little was known about sloth biology . By observing what the wild sloths on their property ate , the couple were able to hand-rear the sloth , named Buttercup , who still currently lives in the Sanctuary . In 1997 , the Sanctuary was officially recognized as a rescue center , becoming Costa Rica 's first sloth-only facility
1991 Limon earthquake
1991 Limon earthquake
Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica