Why Is This Woman's House Overrun With Sloths?

To celebrate the first-ever World Wildlife Day, here's an inspiring story of how one woman is dedicating her life to saving sloths in the forests surrounding Paramaribo, the capital of the South American country of Suriname.

Kristen Bell once tweeted that Monique Pool has her "dream job." In Suriname, Monique's organization, the Green Heritage Fund Suriname, runs a sloth sanctuary for animals that lose their habitat to deforestation. After nursing them back to health, Monique releases the sloths back into the remaining forest.

The popularity of these creatures reveals enormous potential for ecotourism development in Suriname, which could bring much-needed income to the country. Monique is partnering with Conservation International and others to support the protection of Suriname's forests to provide a refuge for these charismatic animals and preserve their value for local people.

Learn more about sloths, Suriname and Monique's sanctuary in this blog post.

To participate in World Wildlife Day, use #WorldWildlifeDay on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and share a photo of wildlife or a message about why this issue matters to you. We'll highlight our favorite contributions below.