Moving in fast (or slow) is a super-cute three-toed sloth brought back to its child after it was found crying on the beach stranded.
You might wonder if there are other numbered toed sloths, given that the mother and child in this story are both three-fingered sloths. It turns out there is! There are two different sloths, the two-toed sloths, and you guessed it – three-toed sloths. However, between the two, there are six other species: Hoffman’s two-toed sloth, Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth, Pale-throated sloth, Brown-throated sloth, and Maned sloth, and Pygmy three-toed sloth.
Separated from its mother, the baby sloth proactively began to climb its way back to the tree and into the overhang this month. Luckily, staff from Jaguar Rescue Center in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica, spotted what had happened and gathered the cuddly baby.
At that point, it was rushed to the vet for examination, where it was found to be in great shape before the heroes devised a strategy to rejoin the child with its mum safely and effectively. They recorded its cry and played it out to the mother to call her down, and when she started her plunge, her valuable child was very carefully given back.
The video of their reunion on Playa Chiquita went viral on Instagram and is currently sitting with over 26,000 views. The caption read, “We are happy to announce that we were able to reunite this mother and baby 3-fingered sloths” (Bradypus variegatus) – or a pygmy three-toed sloth.
On May 10, one of the staff members found the baby crying on the floor near the beach.
“He spotted the mom on the tree, but she was climbing back to the canopy, so he brought the baby for a check-up with the vet, the sloth was healthy and didn’t have any injuries. We recorded the cry of the baby and played it near the tree to get the mom’s attention, we waited patiently until the mom came down for the baby,” they continued. “The JRC created this method a few years ago, we use it every time to be able to reunite mom and baby sloths. It melts our hearts every time we can witness the reunion of a mom and her baby.”
The pygmy three-toed sloth can only be found on the Isla Escudo de Veraguas. Like other sloths, they’re known for their languid movements. However, they are surprisingly good at swimming! Like other sloths, they’re too cute, but admire them from a distance! They can bite if they feel threatened or are provoked to do so. Even if rare, the bites are painful and easily prone to infections.
In addition, they can also hiss or claw in response to attacks when they do not feel up to biting. However, since their movements are so slow, the pygmy three-toed sloth’s primary forms of defenses are stealth and camouflage, where they avoid detection entirely. Even spotted, they can usually survive attacks due to their tough hides, strong grips, and unique healing ability.
This story syndicated with permission from My Faith News
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