Original subtitles

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Now, I think we can all agree that sloths

are absolutely adorable, but did you know

that there's different kinds?

If not, stick around because it's sloth feeding time.

Look at that, they're kissing.

COYOTE PETERSON Costa Rica

is home to an enormous variety of wildlife.

Being positioned geographically between North and South

America, its near-tropical climate

creates the perfect habitat for nearly half

a million species of animals.

And while a large portion of these creatures

are creepy, crawly, slithery, or slimy,

there are also around 200 species of mammals.

However, getting up close with them in the wild

is nearly impossible.

So today, I will be visiting the Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary,

which is perfectly placed along the Pacific

Coast in the beachfront town of Dominical.

This facility helps displaced or injured animals

rehabilitate so that they can eventually

be released back into the wild.

The sanctuary is home to many species, and on this episode,

I will be getting to spend my morning with two

very adorable baby sloths.

It's sloth feeding time.

Now, we make these versus videos and people

always think that the animals are going to fight.

Not the case, especially when it comes to baby sloths.

Now what you're looking at here is a three-toed sloth

and a two-toed sloth.

Now, there are some very distinct differences

between these two species, and right now we're going

to show you those differences.

Notice how the three-toed sloth has a very coarse coat that

is darker in coloration, while the two-toed is much

softer and lighter in color.

Face structure, however, is the most

visually obvious difference.

You can see how distinct the face of the three-toed sloth

is.

And this is the quintessential sloth

species here in Costa Rica, the most famous of the sloths.

It has that really adorable little raccoon-looking mask,

those black, beady eyes, and that button nose.

When you look at the two-toed sloth,

you'll see that the coloration is a goldish tan,

the nose, the lips and the eyes are lighter in coloration,

and the snout is slightly elongated.

Good morning, Cookie.

How are you?

Is this fun?

You're on camera this morning, you're the star

of the show, both of you are.

You can have your own show, couldn't you?

I feel like you'd be a good host.

This is absolutely the coolest thing

I've ever done, feeding both a two-toed and a three-toed sloth

at the same time.

Here we go, Caramel.

Let's see if you want some more.

Would you like some more?

Oh, he likes my watch.

Licking my watch.

Look at that, can you get a shot of that?

Yeah.

Yum, yum, yum.

Yep, can't eat the watch.

Let's go back to having milk and not my watch.

How about that?

I must have gotten goat milk on my watch

because that, all of a sudden, became the topic of interest.

And they can eat up to 20 syringes of milk in a sitting.

You got a milk mustache there, let me get that for you.

There you go.

OK.

Is that a good?

Finger structure is another major difference

between these species.

The three-toed sloth has three fingers on its four feet.

They're fused together and act like a grappling hook

as they hang from tree branches.

The two-toed is actually capable of independently

moving its two fingers.

And the hairless paw pads allow it to easily

grip and manipulate food.

And both species are arboreal, which

means that they spend the majority

of their time up in the trees.

Actually, the only time that they ever come down

to the ground is to move from tree to tree,

or every seven days, that's when they go to the bathroom.

So you'll just sit around for seven days

and eat leaves, and fruit, and flowers.

And then you come down to do your business.

But when they're up in the trees,

they're mainly solitary animals, except for when

it's a female with a baby, or during breeding season.

So you can look up into the treetops

and if that sloth is sitting completely still,

it just looks like a termite nest or a mound of leaves,

and allows them to stay camouflaged

to hide from predators.

Being primarily nocturnal, the two-toed sloth

spends its nights foraging for leaves and fruits

under the cover of darkness.

While the three-toed sloth is a day creature,

spending its time in the daylight, feasting on mainly

leaves.

As for Cookie and Caramel, at the tender

age of just a few months, their diet

consists of primarily milk.

Oh, look at that, Cookie is fast asleep after a good morning

of goat's milk.

I have done some amazing things in my life,

but nothing tops feeding the adorable baby sloths.

I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

For Cookie and Caramel, the future looks bright,

and in just a few months, they should be back in the treetops

living the sloth life.

However, there are many other animals

at Alturas that also need the same amount of love and care.

For those that cannot return to the rainforest,

this incredible facility becomes a permanent home where they are

cared for each and every day by an incredible

staff of animal experts.

Do you dream of feeding a baby sloth?

If so, I have good news.

The Alturas wildlife sanctuary is constantly

welcoming new volunteers to help with the rescue,

rehabilitation and release of Costa Rica's beautiful animals.

For more information on how you can become a part of the team,

visit their website, alturaswildlifesanctuary.org.

All right, Coyote pack, for the very first time,

I'm going to go face-to-face with quite

possibly the stinkiest animal in the world.

Yeah, a skunk.

And I'm sure you're thinking, Oh, yeah,

you guys are working with a skunk.

It probably is degland.

There's no way you're going to get sprayed.

Nope, this skunk has its glands and there is the chance

that I could get sprayed.

As a matter of fact, there's a chance all of you

are going to get sprayed. What?

Oh, yeah.

Get ready, it's skunk time.

Oh, boy.

Every once in a while, I have

the chance to work with some pretty cute animals,

like B-Rad, the baby sloth, and Mr Bean, the Tamandua,

two animals that are being raised and rehabilitated

at a wildlife sanctuary called, Kids Saving The Rainforest.

I imagine everyone out there watching

would love to get up close with a sloth or an anteater,

but what about a skunk?

That's right, I had the chance to go

face to face with nature's most notoriously stinky creature.

Get ready to meet Jungle, the Skunk.

OK, here we go, skunk coming in.

Oh, look at you.

Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

Coming right for the camera.

And, you know, kind of have a bit of a warning there, guys.

Oh, that tail is up.

Tail up.

Oh, no, Mario, you're in the line of fire

right now, buddy.

Good morning.

Good morning, Jungle.

How are you?

This is jungle and she is a striped hog-nosed skunk.

Oh boy, I just feel like I need to put my hands up

when the butt is just like that.

You know that's not going to do you any good.

Now, most of the time-- now, what's very

unique about the jungle is--

all right, yeah, careful there.

Careful.

Oh, boy.

You guys know it is incredibly difficult

to present with mammals.

What I don't want to do is just grab onto Jungle

and try to hold her in place.

She needs to feel as if she is controlling this scene.

I love how they pounce.

Now, she is less than a year old.

And the hog-nose skunk is actually one of the largest

skunk species in the world.

This one specifically, is the striped hog-nose skunk,

which is native to this area here in Costa Rica.

They have such incredible personalities.

All members of the Mustelidae family are curious,

they are playful.

You can see, she's just bounding around, having

a great time this morning.

And you never know what she's going to do next.

Jungle.

She's running circles around you, Mark.

I know, I see that.

There you are.

Oh, OK, thanks, that was a nice kiss.

Kissed by a hog-nosed skunk.

So I know a lot of you have written in.

You've said, Coyote, are you gonna enter

the spray zone with a skunk?

Guys, really?

Do you think I wanna be sprayed by skunk?

Not only will that be horrible for me and the crew.

I'll stink for days.

But you guys can't smell through your screens and--

ah!

Actually funny story is, I was sprayed by a skunk

when I was in fourth grade.

My dog went into the garage, there was a skunk in there.

The skunk sprayed.

I got it all over me and I had to stay

out of school for several days because I smelled so bad.

Now, the good news about Jungle here

is that she's very calm being around people

and there's not a great chance that we're

gonna get sprayed, but--

But there is a chance.

Well, yeah, you're right.

There-- there is, if we agitate her.

But as you can see, she's very interested in playing.

Right, come here.

Let me see.

Oh, good morning.

Good morning.

You know what?

It might-- it might be interesting,

you know, skunks actually, believe it or not, love eggs.

Do we wanna try, maybe, if I break an egg,

and see if she'll lap it up out of my hands?

Look what I have-- Oh.

Look what Coyote's got.

I think you have the good stuff.

OK.

Now, look at this.

Look at the stripes down the center of her back.

Most species of hog-nosed skunks have a solid white line,

but the striped hog-nosed has a dual set.

And you'll notice how--

look at-- there's hardly any fur on her tail.

Now, she did also have a skin condition when

she came here to the sanctuary.

Her tail was completely bald.

But the good news is, she is healthy now

and you can see that the fur is starting to grow back.

Ooh, don't wanna touch the tail too much.

And eventually, it will be this elegant plume

of white bristly fur.

Now, all right, I'm gonna do something a little bit

dangerous. Mark, come over here.

That, right there, that's the spray zone.

Now, the way that a skunk spray works is they

have two glands on either side of the butt.

Now, if a predator comes into the environment

and the skunk is alarmed, they will emit just a little bit

of musk to give off a smell, which is basically

a warning that says, mess with me

and you're gonna get the full dose.

If the skunk is agitated to that point, what it will do

is project two streams of musk out at an attacker.

They could shoot it up to 10 feet

and their aim is extremely accurate.

So something like a bear or wolf.

If it comes in, tries to make a meal of a skunk,

it can be a really bad day.

Did you eat all your egg?

You're not gonna spray me in the face, are you?

This is at point blank range right here.

Here a little butt scratch.

Did you ever think you'd be this close to a skunk?

I don't--

Especially-- especially that close to the danger zone?

I don't think anybody ever thought

that I would be this close to a skunk's backside,

especially one that still has its musk glands.

Skunks are opportunistic feeders,

so pretty much anything they come across out there

in the wild is fair game.

But they specialize in foraging, which means that they search

around in the leaf litter, digging with their claws

for grubs or little worms.

They will eat berries.

They eat roots.

I mean, these creatures just will feast

on anything they can find.

And right now, Jungle is eating some fresh chicken eggs.

Oh, that's good, huh, buddy?

Look at the front claws there.

Looks just like the foot of-- let me

see if I can hold the foot up.

Look at that.

Just like the paw of a badger.

Razor sharp claws.

Hey, that's cool.

Easy, Mario.

Uh-oh.

Easy, Mario.

Risky.

Did you notice how

the skunk is just able to move underneath all of these logs?

She's got a bunch of dirt up on her back now.

The really coarse fur allows her to stay

warm if it ever gets cold.

Obviously, skunks here in the rainforest

don't ever get that cold, but the fur's incredibly dense

and there are these bristly guard hairs.

And then underneath, just like all the other members

of the mustelid family, there's very soft, downy, like, hair.

I feel pretty comfortable with Jungle at this point,

and I think she would really have to be upset

with us, to actually spray.

Now, don't move.

Oh.

she's digging at my boot.

Oh, oh, oh.

She's on my head.

Aah!

Huh!

Well that was the first--

getting completely walked over by a skunk.

Welcome, morning run.

Whoo!

Got to work on my cardio.

OK, let's go this way.

Let's go!

Come on.

Uh-oh, she's gaining.

She's gaining.

I'm getting chased by a mustelid!

Ah!

It's gonna get me.

She's gonna get me.

Here she comes.

Oh, good lap.

Good lap. All right, let's go again.

Here we go.

Ready?

Let's see.

Let's see.

Here you are!

Oh, you're still pouncy.

Woo!

I think I need more on exercise.

I'm getting winded already.

Oh, good job.

OK, come on!

Come on, you got this.

Woo!

One very important aspect of Jungle's day

is that she gets plenty of exercise.

So right now, getting her out here

in this natural environment, just getting

her to run back and forth, is very important

for her rehabilitation.

Ha!

This is exhausting.

I definitely need to work on my cardio.

The skunk is running laps around me.

Hurry, Jungle. I'm ready.

Here we go.

Come on.

Oh!

She's making a pee.

Making a pee.

OK.

Oh, and a poop.

Now, even skunks poop.

As you'll notice, she's here morning business.

I guess we ran it right out of you, didn't we?

Whoa, my goodness.

That is a-- yeah.

Show them.

That's a-- that's a serious number two right there.

OK, well, a little exercise, a little bathroom

break, and I think it is back off to the races.

OK, come on, let's go.

Oh, now she's quicker on her feet.

What a morning.

Hanging out, getting exercise with a baby hog-nosed Skunk.

Thanks, Jungle.

Ha!

The good news is that in just a couple of months,

Jungle is going to be released back out into the wild.

Just another incredible success story here at Kids

Saving The Rainforest.

I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure?

All right.

I'm ready, let's go.

I'm Coyote Peterson.

Do you have any idea what that is?

If not, stick around 'cause I'm about to tell you.

Costa Rica is home to many incredible animals.

However, sometimes these animals are either

injured or displaced from their homes

and can no longer live in the wild.

If they are fortunate enough to be found by a loving human,

there's a good chance they will be taken to the Alturas

Wildlife Sanctuary.

Home to nearly 50 permanent residents,

this animal safe haven is located in the coastal town

of Dominical.

And while the sanctuary's number one goal

is to rehabilitate and release animals back into the wild,

sometimes their disabilities won't allow

them to survive on their own.

So they find refuge in care amidst

the incredible staff and natural rainforest setting.

Today, I will be getting to spend

some quality time with one of their newest residents.

I hope you're ready, because this little creature is

unlike anything you've seen before.

So right now, I am having a staring contest

with a Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine.

I'm totally gonna win.

Oh, no, I blinked.

You beat me.

This is my little buddy named Bud

and he is a Baby Tree porcupine.

And he is about as adorable as it gets.

Now, we know that I've worked with porcupines in the past.

I think we all remember what happened last time.

Aah!

Look how I get myself into these things.

Oh.

Yeah, there we go.

That's a handful of quills.

Ooh.

Yeah, a handful of quills.

This guy is also covered in quills

but what I'm not gonna do today is get quilled

by this adorable little rodent.

Now, Bud-- let me see if I can give him some avocado.

This is his absolute favorite.

He's an arboreal species, which means

that he sticks to the trees.

He's also nocturnal, which means that he's out at night.

And right now, we're getting close to sunset.

Bud is just starting to wake up to get active.

And using this food, I obviously have his attention.

Is it good?

Are you going to eat it?

Or am I gonna eat it?

Let's see if I take it away and try it.

Hey, save some for me.

It's my favorite food, too.

Is it your favorite food?

Oh, yeah.

I'm sorry, Bud.

You eat this so that Mark can't have any.

Now this is-- this is such a unique animal.

And Bud is a baby.

So you'll grow to be quite a bit bigger.

They can grow to be about 5 and 1/2 pounds.

Not as big as the North American porcupine,

but this is the one species of porcupine that is

very common here in Costa RCA.

Now oftentimes, it's pretty difficult

to present an animal that's walking around,

but it can also be difficult to present an animal that's

just completely standing still.

We wanna show you just how Bud move.

So I'm gonna borrow your dinner.

Can I take this?

And let's see if we can get Bud to come out here on this log.

Come on, buddy.

Bud.

Look what Coyote has.

Its a peanut.

Oh.

Peanut butter is good.

Eat me.

Come on, Bud, eat me.

I'm gonna eat this peanut if you aren't gonna eat it.

I think he wants me to actually get

the peanut out of the shell.

This is kind of like, uh, when Elliott is trying

to get ET out of the forest.

We gotta make a trail of peanuts in this case.

Come up here.

Look what I've got.

One of the most interesting features--

move it here, look at that tail.

Have you ever seen a porcupine with a long tail like that?

That is a prehensile tail, which allows this porcupine

to be up in the treetops and he can actually

wrap this around a branch and hang upside

down if he's eating food.

Oh, and now he found the peanut.

This is great.

So you're getting kind of the full look at this animal.

And it's nice working with a porcupine of this size.

It's a little easier for me to get right up close

without him getting too scared.

And let's look at the fur.

You see that?

Real dark in coloration.

It's what you'll get with this species.

And underneath these guard hairs, a bunch of quills.

Bud, do you think it would be OK if we show everybody at home

your quills?

I'm gonna take that as a yes.

All right, watch this.

OK, I'm just gonna part this hair back very gently.

Would you look at that, can you see in there?

Oh, yeah. - Oh, yeah.

You know what those are?

Those are quills.

And as we know, quills are nothing more

than modified hairs.

But you may be saying to yourself, Coyote,

how are you touching a porcupine and it's not

shooting its quills out at you?

Well, that's a misconception, because porcupines can't

actually shoot their quills.

Let's say a predator comes into the environment,

it actually needs to get close to this porcupine's rump,

disturb these guard hairs.

So if I were to put my nose in there,

it'll scare the porcupine, it would thrust its ramp up

in the air, and that's when you end

up with a snout full of quills.

And the bad thing about these quills

is that they have reversed barbs.

Just get into your snout or your hand,

and they dig deeper, and deeper, and deeper, over time.

So what I'm not gonna do today is get quilled

by this little porcupine.

Ooh, here's another peanut.

Round two.

Aah!

Just kidding!

That's for you, buddy.

It's amazing to watch them eat, to see

how his claws in his hands just grip that peanut.

You would think that he would just, you know,

shove the whole thing into his mouth like a squirrel.

But he's just very intricately chipping off piece after piece.

Look at that nose.

Look at all those whiskers.

Little sensory whiskers and he uses those to feel

around looking for food.

Now, Bud is a permanent resident here at the Alturas Wildlife

Sanctuary.

He was hit by a car when he was really, really little,

and he sustained some damages that will no longer allow

him to survive in the wild.

So he's gonna live his life here in all sorts of comfort,

including the ability to have peanuts

every single day, which sounds like a pretty good thing,

doesn't it?

You're well taken care of here, and I can see that you're

very happy and very healthy.

Makes me feel good in my heart.

How do you feel about it?

Ah!

I totally understand.

Do you want the rest of this peanut?

Here you go.

Peanuts, yum, yum, yum, yum.

Every animal has its own unique being, and many of them

have incredible personalities.

I think it's fair to say that Bud was definitely running

the show, and he is certainly one porcupine

that I will never forget.

Well, how excellent was this?

Getting to spend the evening with the Mexican hairy dwarf

porcupine.

You know something, Bud?

You and I are buddies.

I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave, stay wild.

We'll see on the next adventure.

The Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary is helping to rehabilitate

new animals every single day.

The hardworking staff never takes a day off.

And to care for all of these temporary and permanent

residents, they need our help.

And even a little bit can go a long ways.

If you would like to donate or become

a part of their volunteer team, make

sure to visit their website, alturaswildlifesanctuary.org.