Rare Video Captures The Incredible Moment A Baby Sloth Is Born

The new mom was so happy to hold her ❤

Each and every time a newborn sloth enters the world, it’s cause for celebration. But to witness such a rarely-seen event makes it even more so.

Recently, nature guide Steven Vela did just that — and he caught the whole thing on film.

Wikipedia

Evidently, while trekking with a group through a forest in Costa Rica, Vela happened to notice a sloth high in the treetops. Though notoriously difficult to spot in the wild as it is, this particular sloth was seconds away from doing something few have ever observed.

As Vela looked on, the sloth gave birth to a beautiful baby.

Here’s video of that incredible moment — and the tender interaction between mother and child that followed:

Vela was stunned. And for good reason.

“In eight years that I’ve worked as a guide, I have never seen anything like it,” Vela said later. “The emotion was very great. I can’t describe what I felt at that moment. I just knew it was something wonderful, something that you don't see every day.”

With any luck, both mother and baby will continue to thrive in their leafy home — the start of a new generation that will lead to many, many more to come.