A member of the Costa Rican Jaguar Rescue Center team was on the beach in May of last year investigating a complaint of an injured animal. Over the sound of the water, he suddenly heard a baby wailing as he prepared to return to the center. At that moment, he noticed the infant sloth lying in the sand.
According to Noelia, a staff member at Jaguar Rescue Center, “He heard the cry and quickly knew it was a newborn sloth (their cry is like a whistle),” The Dodo said. He observed his mother on the tree, but she was returning to the top. We think the infant dropped from his mother and cried to get her attention, but she probably didn’t hear him due to the beach’s clamor.
To ensure the infant sloth was unharmed by the fall, the Jaguar Rescue Center staff examined him. They gave him some water and some downtime because he appeared healthy, albeit a little weak. Based on his size, they concluded that he was only a few weeks old, and they started working on a strategy to get him back with his mother.
They began by recording the newborn sloth’s cries before returning to the beach with a speaker. They played the baby’s cry as they waited for the mother sloth to notice and begin to descend the tree. At that time, they returned the infant to the beach for the get-together.
After nearly two hours of waiting at the base of the tree with the young sloth, his mother finally got close enough to re-adopt him, and everyone around immediately broke down in tears as they witnessed the touching reunion.
“We [could] see she missed her kid so much and was delighted to have him back when she grabbed him,” Noelia added. “It was a touching moment for all of us, and we sincerely hope that the mother and child are safe. Every time we see a mother and her child reunite, it melts our hearts.
The mama sloth had no idea her baby had fallen, but thanks to some quick-thinking rescuers, the pair are now reunited and back to living their lives together.
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