Absolutely nothing can prepare you for the sweet minute when a baby sloth sees its mommy once again. At least, absolutely nothing could have prepared me. No matter what you’re expecting, it’s better.
The Jaguar Rescue Center (JRC) in Limón, Costa Rica rescues sloths after they’re injured in the wild and prepares them for release back into the wild. The center provides permanent homes to sloths with injuries that are too substantial for re-release. The JRC also contributes scientific research about sloths and other species native to the area.
This video, reshared by @explorefervor on Instagram, shows an employee carefully handing a baby sloth back to its mother after some duration of separation (we don’t understand why they were separated). The sloth mommy reaches for her baby, cuddling it into her body as soon as the human assistant completes the transfer.
Turn your volume as much as hear how the infant sloth responds upon seeing his or her mom:
Contributions to Sloth Research Study
At the end of last year, the JRC published a term paper presenting a novel method for wildlife offspring release “to facilitate their reunion with their moms in their natural habitats, thereby preventing the requirement for captive rearing.”
According to the paper, “This method utilizes call records of the offspring to attract their mothers successfully.”
The research consisted of releasing the offspring of three mammal types housed for rehab at the rescue center, including two types of sloths and one species of howler monkey.
“The study showed appealing outcomes, effectively releasing 45.8% of Hoffmann’s two-toed sloths, 91.9% of brown-throated sloths, and 50% of mantled howler monkeys,” the paper says.
While we do not understand for sure that this video had anything to do with the research, it’s reassuring to know that wildlife rescuers at the JRC are studying techniques and effectively reuniting baby sloths and their mommies.
Watching that fuzzy baby sloth reach for its mommy made my day. Sloths in general are excessive to handle. Here’s a smiley one to conclude this article.
P.S. Did this video bring a tear to your eye?
Nothing can prepare you for the sweet minute when a baby sloth sees its mom again. No matter what you’re expecting, it’s much better.