Man rescues baby sloth from drowning, four years later it's the perfect pet that crawled into their calm, unhurried family life

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Jan 7, 2026 9:00 AM EST

Somebody call Kristen Bell because this man is living her slow, sloth-filled dream. 

When you go fishing, you might be excited to come home with a really big catch. But what this guy got instead was quite the opposite. Not only was it seriously small, but it wasn't even a fish at all! It turned out to be a baby sloth that was drowning. The man picked up the wet baby animal and swaddled it in towels. The sloth immediately clung to him like he was its mother. 

Over the years, the sloth and the family grew closer, until the sloth eventually treated them like real parents. They learned to appreciate taking things slow and the sloth's odd, yet adorable, habits. Four years later, the sloth still clings to them like it did when it was rescued.

Although this is a very cute story, we don't know enough about the sloth's background to know if this "rescue" was ethical or not. This is a reminder that sloths, and all wild animals, are not pets. They belong out in nature, no matter how cute a pet they might make. Even if the sloth was injured or born with some sort of deformity, they should have contacted professionals to make sure the sloth got proper care and had the opportunity to be reintroduced to the wild. 

Don't be the next Tiger King. If you find a wild animal in need of help, first call the authorities, and have them tell you what to do before taking any action of your own.

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  • 01
    Cap Cut Four years ago, my husband pulled this little sloth out of the lake.
    via sloth_world_lover, dor.saunders
  • 02
    sloth_world_lover The baby sloth rescued from the lake fouryears ago is all grown up now. Credit dor.saunders
    via sloth_world_lover, dor.saunders
  • 03
    M It's so cute
    via sloth_world_lover, dor.saunders
  • 04
    hothead101166 They are beautiful creatures, but should not be kept as pets. Should of been sent to a wildlife refuge, so it could be reintroduced to others of his/her kind!
    via hothead101166
  • 05
    It's so cute
    via sloth_world_lover, dor.saunders

  • We get the desire to keep the sloth as a pet. Who wouldn't want one? They're adorable, especially when they are babies. However, do you have any idea what the diet of a sloth is? What kind of environment it needs? How it matures? How to socialize it? Yeah, we didn't think so, and there's a good reason for that: because sloths aren't meant to be pets. They may not be dangerous, but they don't belong in human houses. We know how tempting it is to live a life full of sloth hugs, but think about it from the sloth's point of view, and you might think otherwise.

  • 06
    alfandmaggiesmumma Great rescue, bur he should be returned to his natural environment, they are not pets ②
    via alfandmaggiesmumma
  • 07
    ☑ These were the first moments after the baby sloth came home
    via sloth_world_lover, dor.saunders
  • 08
    bonnie_lk Great job! You'll be blessed for saving her!
    via bonnie_lk
  • 09
    These were the first moments after the baby sloth came home ×
    via sloth_world_lover, dor.saunders
  • 10
    j.stach I love your story thank you for sharing
    via j.stach
  • 11
    The sloth's growth over the past four years.
    via sloth_world_lover, dor.saunders
  • 12
    sharon.paul_travels Needs to go back to the wild
    via sharon.paul_travels
  • 13
    The sloth's growth over the past four years.
    via sloth_world_lover, dor.saunders

  • Sloths mostly eat leaves, flowers, and tender shoots. But where do you even buy those things? It's not like pet stores have a “sloth section”. You'd have to go to a plant nursery, and even then, could any of those flowers be poisonous to sloths? Also, sloths eat very little because it takes them so long to digest things (their whole bodies are slow), so you run the risk of easily overfeeding them.

  • 14
    banjolulu Omg.... I need a sloth..
    via banjolulu
  • 15
    The sloth's growth over the past four years.
    via sloth_world_lover, dor.saunders
  • 16
    dianelbrewer1 Sloths are so cute your husband rescued a good soul
    via dianelbrewer1
  • 17
    The sloth's growth over the past four years. A
    via sloth_world_lover, dor.saunders
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    tanikasales
    via tanikasales
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    via sloth_world_lover, dor.saunders

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Tags

baby animals wild animals pets unusual pets animal rescue slow family animals sloth
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