Floor nursed sloths in Costa Rica during her leave: 'Before they poop they do a really funny dance'

12 August 2024 News item

To get to know people faster during her first solo trip, Floor van Dongen, Marketing and Communications Specialist at the Faculty of Law, sought suitable volunteer work. That search led her to Costa Rica where she nursed injured sloths for several weeks: 'I am proud to have made such a trip on my own.'

"What looks like fun to do? And which place do I want to visit?" With these two questions, Floor started her search on the website Volunteer World. 'I hesitated between teaching English in Africa and working with animals. Because I was curious about Central America, I ended up in Costa Rica. There were all kinds of projects available in Costa Rica to care for animals: from sea turtles and birds to pigs and coyotes. Sloths appealed to me the most, also because they are only found in that region.'

And so, after a long journey - 'I was not looking forward to the long journey' - Floor ended up at a shelter for sick, injured and orphaned sloths in May this year. 'Sloths are very cute animals. They always have a smile on their face, and before they poop they do a very funny dance,' says Floor. 'At the same time, they have a bad survival instinct. For instance, they mistake their own arm for a branch, causing them to fall out of the tree, and they sometimes forget to take their children with them.'

Fitter and more energy

Each day consisted of three shifts: one from 06:00 to 07:30, one from 09:00 to 11:00 and one from 14:00 to 17:00. 'Those shifts included preparing cooked vegetables for the sloths, cleaning their enclosures and helping baby sloths into trees for their training.' 1-2 days a week, volunteers could get time off and go out. 'Through the shelter, excursions were organised, such as a boat trip, ziplining and visiting a hotspring. And we also visited the capital San José with a group for a day.'

The beautiful weather and the tight daily rhythm where you get up early in the morning and go to sleep when it gets dark, did Floor good. 'I felt fitter and more energetic. We were outside all day.' A big difference from the Netherlands where she sits folded up behind her laptop all day, Floor stresses. 'Here, for example, I notice that my joints hurt faster.'

By car through Central America

At the same time, travelling alone despite the many other volunteers was sometimes tough. 'Although I did make some friends, I was there too briefly to really build a close relationship. This is also because the turnover of volunteers is high. That's why sometimes you're pretty much on your own. Looking back, I am proud that I made such a trip on my own.'

Nevertheless the great experience, Floor does not plan to make another similar trip anytime soon. 'I would like to have a travel companion and I prefer travelling to several places rather than being in one location all the time.' She is not yet bored of Central America. 'I can envision myself renting a car there and travelling around the region, but with a travel companion.'

That Radboud University gives her so much space to travel was one of Floor's reasons for working there in the first place. 'You can at least get leave for about four connected weeks every year. And while I'm still young and healthy, and have relatively few commitments, I can do plenty of traveling. Australia, New Zealand, Kenya and Tanzania, among others, are still on my list.' Although Floor enjoys travelling, she also likes coming back to Nijmegen. 'I regularly thought, "how are my colleagues doing?" and I didn't mind going back to work at all.'

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Floor van Dongen en andere vrijwilligers