Costa Rica Sloths: Meet Rapida, Our Friendly Surprise Houseguest

Written by Nikki Solano

Nikki is the CEO of Pura Vida! eh? Inc. (Costa Rica Discounts), and the author of the guidebooks Moon Costa Rica (2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 editions) and Moon Best of Costa Rica (2022 edition) from Moon Travel Guides. Together with her Costa Rican husband, Ricky, she operates the Costa Rica Travel Blog, created the online community DIY Costa Rica, built the Costa Rica Destination Tool, and designed the Costa Rica Trip Planning 101 E-Course. Also, Nikki wrote the Costa Rica cover feature for Wanderlust Magazine's sustainability-focused Travel Green List issue, showcased Costa Rica destinations and experiences on Rick Steves' Monday Night Travel show and podcast/radio show, and served as the Costa Rica Destination Editor for Essentialist, a luxury travel brand. Want to show your appreciation for her free article below? Thank Nikki here. ❤️️

Who knew sloths were so social?

Well, this is a first. The other day, a three-toed sloth appeared on our back porch. 😲

We’re no strangers to sloths—we’ve spotted them in the trees that tower over Costa Rica’s numerous national parks, we’ve watched a few glide across telephone cables, and we’ve even helped transport an injured sloth to a rehabilitation facility (it had fallen from a tree and was lying on the side of the road)—but we’ve never had the privilege of hosting one at home. Not until this past week, that is.

Meet Rapida (“Fast”), a sloth that randomly showed up at our house. We gave her the cheeky moniker because, despite sloths as a group having a reputation for moving slowly, Rapida was the speediest three-toed sloth that we’ve ever seen.

This particular Costa Rican sloth moved throughout the house in no time at all. She visited with us for the better part of a day, hanging out on our back porch, exploring the rafters, accidentally (and gently!) bumping her head on a lightbulb, and stopping every so often to take a nap, as sloths do, before moving on to a forest adjacent to the property. Although we would have loved to entertain Rapida for longer, our day with her is one we’ll never forget. ❤️

More information about sloths

For more information about Costa Rica sloths, including the best places to see sloths during your trip to Costa Rica, don’t miss our related blog post: How, When, And Where To See Sloths In Costa Rica (15+ Spots)

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