Amanda Orens
Operations Manager
Amanda has been worked with sloths at TSI for the past 4 years both in Sarapiqui and in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. She is currently the Operations Manager for our field site in Manuel Antonio.
Amanda is from Southern California and graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a Zoology, B.S degree. Throughout her time in university, she got involved in ecology labs on campus as well as volunteered at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Amanda was introduced to wildlife rehabilitation while working as an animal caretaker at SBWCN, mainly focusing on birds and small mammals. After graduating, Amanda came across conservation projects in Costa Rica and took the leap to gain more field experience with wildlife research. While in Costa Rica she volunteered at TSI and a turtle conservation project in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Amanda also helped lead high school groups around Costa Rica to educate them about conservation and wildlife in the country. She then decided to return to TSI as one of our Sloth Technician Supervisors!
Working with sloths has become a passion of mine because we are continuously learning something new about them. Sloths are often named as “lazy bears” but they have so much life and personality to them! Each sloth is unique from their preferences in foods (leaves and fruits), interactions with other sloths, to even how they tackle obstacles. Rescuing and researching sloths is the best way to protect them in the wild!