In what might be the most anxiety-inducing video of creature giving birth ever recorded, a three-toed sloth brings a baby into the world all while hanging from a branch high up in the canopy.
Discover our latest podcast
The video was recorded by Steven Vela, a tour guide who was in amazement after experiencing the rare event. He stated to National Geographic:
That was something amazing... I think I will die and I will never see something like that [again].
Due to the fact that these events haven't been recorded often, is it unclear whether this is how sloths normally give birth or not, however, we do know that they tend to spend most of their lives in the treetops hiding away from predators. They usually only descend about once a week to poop.
In the video, we can see that the mother prepares to receive the newborn by placing her arms out to where she is expecting it to exit, it then tumbles out missing the embrace of its mother's hands. It is however caught by the incredible strength of the umbilical cord that physically bonds mother and child.
Has the newborn hangs in a temporary limbo before being scooped up by its mother, it already looks ready to grab hold and adjust to life in the trees mere seconds after it's been born.
In an interview with IFLScience, George Sunter of the ZSL London Zoo commented:
It’s not known whether the behaviour of the baby hanging by its umbilical cord is typical of a sloth birth, as very little data on this currently exists – but it does seem unusual... What we’ve witnessed here at London Zoo is that babies are born ready to go and can cling onto their mum from the minute they are born.
This was an incredible moment captured by an unsuspecting passerby that provides valuable insight into a species little is known about.
