By Wendy Anders

At 11:25 Friday night, police checking vehicles on the San Jose-Caribbean Route 32 found a surprise tucked in the trunk of one car.

A newborn three-toed sloth was discovered in a cardboard box during a routine stop-and-search operation near the Zurqui Tunnel.

The vehicle’s owner, of the last name Chávez and resident of Atenas, Alajuela, was heading towards San José from Siquirres, Limón, and may be charged for violating wildlife conservation laws, said police in a press statement.

He was handed over to the public prosecutor’s office in Heredia on Saturday morning.

Police said they are on alert for illegal handling of sloths. The Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) recently issued a special alert on an increased in trafficking of two-toed sloths for sale as pets, saying this is contributing to its endangerment as a species. Police fear the three-toed sloth may be heading down the same path.

A special police operational support team aided the Heredia Police in the rescue, and delivered the baby sloth to the ZooAve Wildlife Conservation Center in La Garita, Alajuela where it is receiving care.