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This International Sloth Day show features an interview with zoologist Dr. Rebecca Cliffe, who is the founder and director of The Sloth Conservation Foundation. We also welcome 13-year-old entrepreneur and animal advocate Sir Darius Brown of Beaux and Paws, who sews and donates handmade bow ties for shelter animals to help them get adopted.
Sir Darius Brown on creating hope for shelter animals using handmade bow ties
Sir Darius Brown of Newark, New Jersey is the 13-year-old founder of Beaux & Paws. He is also a speaker, philanthropist, and animal advocate who creates handmade stylish bow ties for shelter animals to help them get adopted. He has been featured in numerous news media pieces, won multiple awards, and even received a presidential commendation from former President Barack Obama.
Starting in 2017 as a 10-year-old, Sir Darius put together his passion for animals and creating bow ties to help shelter animals be noticed and adopted after the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma displaced many dogs from their homes. He learned about the overcrowding in shelters and how shelter animals suffer the consequences of this. This motivated him to devote more time and resources to supporting these animals by outfitting them with adorable and eye-catching bow ties to increase their appeal to potential adopters.
Sir Darius now speaks at conferences and events to teach others about the importance of education, volunteering, and giving back to the community. He hopes to inspire a new generation of leaders and help shelter animals find forever homes by highlighting the animals who suffer unnoticed. In this episode he speaks to us about his work as the young founder of Beaux & Paws and the bow-tied shelter animals who have successfully found their new homes.
Dr. Rebecca Cliffe, founder and director of The Sloth Conservation Foundation, on researching and saving sloths through community-based strategies and programs
October 20th is International Sloth Day! Our featured guest is Dr. Rebecca Cliffe, a British zoologist who is considered to be one of the world’s leading experts on sloth biology and ecology. She is the founder and director of The Sloth Conservation Foundation and has been featured in multiple programs on Animal Planet, the Discovery Channel, and Netflix, as well as the award-winning documentary film Meet the Sloths.
Dr. Cliffe has worked extensively with sloths for over 10 years, including conducting field research and publishing several scientific papers on the ecology, biology, genetics, and physiology of sloths from Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Brazil. During this time, she has witnessed the increasing struggles wild sloths face.
Dr. Cliffe founded The Sloth Conservation Foundation to stimulate progressive change and achieve lasting solutions to these problems through research, conservation initiatives, and community-based programs. These range from increasing habitat connectivity in urban areas to educating people in local communities and conducting more scientific research into sloth biology and ecology. She joins us from the jungles of Costa Rica to speak more about her work and about these wonderful and highly unusual creatures.
Show produced by Elyse Jacobson, with web content written by Elyse Jacobson and Asami Hitohara
