Nothing is more powerful than a mother’s love for her children. Most baby animals in nature rely on their mothers for safety and survival, which makes it heartbreaking when a mother and her child are separated.
That was the case for a mother sloth and her baby, who had been separated by wildfires and were overjoyed to be reunited.
Last year, wildfires ravaged Bolivia, wreaking havoc on the local wildlife. Animals fled the wilderness and ended up in a nearby town.
A mother sloth and her baby were among the animals fleeing to safety, but they got separated along the way. According to The Dodo, the pair were apparently pursued by unfriendly dogs, causing the mother to lose control of her baby.
We can’t imagine how this mother felt after her child went missing. However, while they were separated, a veterinarian named Marco Greminger picked up the young sloth.
Fortunately, the vet suspected that the young sloth had become separated from his family.
Greminger searched the area and discovered another sloth in a tree 300 feet away. Recognizing that it was most likely the sloth’s mother.
He placed the baby close to the mother… The mother and child were reunited in a touching moment captured on camera:
It’s unclear how long the mother and child had been separated, but they were clearly relieved to see each other again.
The mother dashes over (or as quickly as a sloth can) and the two embrace.
“A mother’s heart is the most beautiful place for a child,” Greminger wrote. “In all the space of the Universe there is only one heart like this.”
Greminger took the two sloths to a nearby vet clinic, where they were found to be in good health. They were later released back into the wild at an ecological reserve, according to The Dodo.