Sloth Sanctuary Suriname sequel: the whole story!

This is Mimi, we think Mimi is a he, but we could be wrong. Three-fingered sloths remain a gender mystery until they become one year old. Before that, we can only guess, look at how they behave and just feel like that is a male or female. Mimi swipes at us a lot when we give him and his mum food. It looks like play, but sometimes it is definitely intended to hurt us. Fortunately, Mimi is still a baby, so we consider it play. Only when a three-fingered sloth reaches the age of one year old, does a spot in the back form, in case it is a male. Females do not develop this spot.
Although we now have the Xenarthra rehabilitation center, where all animals should go that need treatment, the Corona crisis has also left us in a situation where we had to revert to doing things we used to do them. Mimi and his mum are living for the moment in my living room. On a huge ladder. At first, they were living in a small tree in my living room.
Right when the first soft lockdown period started in Suriname, and we all started working from home, Yvonne, our animal caretaker, also fell ill with the flu. We were at minimal staffing, and this animal needed extra care. Mimi’s mom was severely wounded and it looks like she will never have 20/20 vision again. She had been attacked by humans, her face was a bloody mess. It was difficult for me to look at her, and not feel pain. This meant the animals could not be transferred to the center for treatment and care.
And then there was Mimi. Mimi and his mum were all the time together. This female sloth had a reason to live, she had a baby to take care of. And we had to take care of her, to ensure her baby would grow into a healthy juvenile that would find his own way in the forest. Although we have almost all the materials ready to start building a new enclosure, due to the pandemic, there were restrictions on traveling outside of your area, we were not allowed to be with more than 5 persons in one place, etc., etc. So, now, Mimi has lived here for already 2 months, and grown a lot. At night I would see him going up and down in the tree, practicing his climbing skills, while his mom would sit quietly, while her face was healing. Now we are planning to build the enclosure in the coming weeks. So that they can live closer to nature and Mimi can start practicing in taller trees, instead of a ladder or the branches of food we hang for him and his mum.
In this time of humanitarian crisis, animal rescues continue. We thank you for your continued support in these extraordinary trying times for all of us. On the 15th of July there will be a Bonus Day, please consider making a major gift on this day to help us continue our work for the animals.