Let's see. It's Wednesday. My sister and brother-in-law must be in Panama because last month they were in Costa Rica. Sarah is just back from a business trip and a few days of fun in Puerto Rico. And Anna is in Vietnam for a couple weeks, part of a leadership program for agriculture in Minnesota. Without the wonders of Facebook and WhatsApp (free texting all over the world) I would be feeling very lonely!
My sister and BIL rented a house in Costa Rica for a few months. My favorite adventure of theirs so far involved this little guy.
They were eating breakfast one morning in their open air kitchen and a baby sloth fell from the rafters of the house with a plop onto the floor at their feet! No mama in sight, which was odd because this was a tiny baby and they usually stay attached to the fur on the mama's belly for many weeks after birth.
The neighbors called an animal rescue group who sent someone out to try to find the mother. No luck. They were told that baby sloths seldom survive without their mother and they didn't offer much hope for this one. They recorded the baby's cries, took the baby with them, and left the recording to be played at intervals in hopes that the mother would hear and come s-l-o-w-l-y down out of the trees to find her baby.
Several days passed. They did see one sloth but it was determined to be a male, not the mama.
Finally, after it seemed too late to even be looking, they spotted a female in a tree!
I'll let my sister take over from here:
"A little later in another tree Darryl spotted another sloth. This one looked like a female. We played the tape of the baby over and over and she reacted, moving around trying to see where it was coming from. Called the rescue people and they came right over. The guy said yes it's a female and is the mother.
"They had brought the baby with them. They put it at the base of the tree with our speaker playing hoping the mother would come down. She started to come down but stopped. They decided they would get the baby up to the mother. They got a rope around the branch right by the mother and used my straw purse to put the baby in and hoisted it up. Took a bit for the baby to get out of my purse and try to reach the mother. The mother was able to reach down and grab the baby and put it on her back.
"It was one of the neatest things we've seen. The rescue people were very happy and appreciative for us spotting her."
I just wish they had taken more pictures!
Posted with Blogsy
What an incredible story, and boy, you do have a far-flung family!
ReplyDeleteIt would make a terrific children't story! I think that message ap is terriic, too! Can you give me some particulars (offline) on your sister's rental in CR? I am definitely interested in that, too. Email on my profile (I think).
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kate - that would be a great children's story - your new retirement activity? I like sloths - we don't have them here, but they look sweet natured (apart from the big claws).
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely animal
ReplyDeleteI suppose it was bound to take a long time, sloths are not ones to hurry. Glad the story ended so happily.
ReplyDeleteThat is simply incredible. And a happy ending. I don't think I could have taken a sad ending. Too many of those. Precious sloths!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous story! It's something you'd never expect to experience. Somehow, a baby sloth falling from the rafters is something I can barely imagine!
ReplyDeleteA bit different to flipping eggs for breakfast - a sloth flops down!
ReplyDeleteWould have been amusing to see the "rapid movements" of escape from the
breakfast table, a sloth "flopping in" would be a rarity even in Costa Rica.
Good to read all ended happily - peculiar that the mother sloth just disappeared
for a time? Any logical reason given by the Animal Rescue Group/Association?
In the animal world, mothers just don't abandon their young unless the "cub/pup/kitten
etc etc - other names of the young" is beyond help. Animal mothers are very
protective of their offspring.
Cheers
Colin
PS: No bloody February this year in Brisbane - the sweat-box was only 1 or 2 days
and NO nights - the bonus!
What an amazing story!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful tale and of people so caring.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely goosebumps story, I'm so happy with how it all ended up, totally lovely and even more exciting to have been able to keep up with such adventures whilst your Sister is travelling. We love Skype too!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week.
Wren x
What a story, the mother is rather slow to loose her child and not even looking for it! Strange animal.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful saga. It's so sad when this situation occurs...
ReplyDelete(ツ) from Cottage Country Ontario , ON, Canada!
That's a wonderful uplifting story. Hope Mum holds onto baby a little better this time round.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic experience, one they will remember forever. I so enjoyed reading this story and seeing how far some people will go to protect the fragile lives of animals. Thank you for sharing this story.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great rescue! :)
ReplyDeleteAw, that is a sweet rescue story. I'm so glad your sister and BIL were able to help reunite the mama sloth and baby sloth.
ReplyDelete