Days before wildlife organizations around the world celebrated International Sloth Day, the Sloth Institute Costa Rica (SICR) reported on the rescue of a pregnant female sloth that fell from a tree and eventually required a surgical intervention to help her deliver an adorable baby. Here is the story as written by SICR Manager and primate conservationist Sam Trull, who has been interviewed by BBC One and the Huffington Post:

A week ago we received an adult female three toed sloth at the KSTR wildlife rescue clinic. The sloth was brought by a young man who worked for a local hotel. He witnessed her fall from a tree. After trying to help her get back up and climb to her safety, he realized something more was wrong and called us for help. At first sight this sloth captivated my heart…she was having a seizure, but I swear we made eye contact and instantly I was hooked. Upon examination I determined that she had not fractured her skull (yay!) and that she was pregnant (not so yay).

After speaking with our vet, I started her medications and of course supportive care. Now it became a waiting game. A few days later she wasn’t looking much better. Her eyes were bright and her lungs sounded good, she just wasn’t moving much and still had some rigidity to her limbs. Her prognosis was not good and euthanasia was even discussed. I’ve seen a lot of animals pass away during the two years that I’ve worked in wildlife rescue here in Costa Rica and after each death I often think, “how can I keep doing this? It’s too hard” but somehow I find the will to keep fighting.

We arrived at Veterinarian Yesse Alpizar, in Herradura. I’ve taken other patients to Yesse before. She is one of the kindest and smartest vets I’ve met and she also happens to have a clinic equipped with a digital X-ray and ultrasound machine.   After getting a complete history on momma sloth, Yesse examined her and agreed with me that she was in labor. We first took an X-ray. It was amazing to see the little life inside of mom’s belly…but unfortunately the baby was in a breech position and mom was completely full of urine and feces (sloths can hold up to 30% of their body weight in urine/feces) meaning that the baby changing position wasn’t likely. At this point, c-section was discussed but we needed to check the baby with an ultrasound to confirm a heartbeat and the exact position.

The picture of the snuggling mom and baby that accompanies this article was taken by Ms. Trull days after the cesarean delivery.

SICR is a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center located in the Manuel Antonio National Park area of the Southern Pacific Coast. SICR works in conjunction with Kids Saving the Rainforest. The Institute’s mission is to enhance and expand scientific knowledge about the sloth and to assure their conservation and preservation by means of:

1. Rescue and release of sloths including meeting all husbandry needs and funding all equipment/enclosure requirements.
2. Research of reintroduced sloths with a GPS collar program, as well as of wild and captive rescued sloths in Manuel Antonio.
3. Collaboration with other institutions that work with sloths around the world.
4. Education to generate and disseminate responsible and balanced public information about sloths.