The woman who lost a dog and gained 200 sloths

[dipsydoodle]

Monique Pool first fell in love with sloths when she took in an orphan from a rescue centre. Since then many sloths have spent time in her home on their way back to the forest - but even she found it hard to cope when she had to rescue 200 at once.

It all began in 2005 when Pool lost her dog, a mongrel called Sciolo, and called the Suriname Animal Protection Society to see if they'd found it. They hadn't, but they told her about Loesje (or Lucia), a baby three-toed sloth they didn't know how to look after. Pool offered to take it - and was instantly smitten. "They're very special animals to look at," she says. "They always have a smile on their face and seem so tranquil and peaceful."

Sloths are gentle creatures, but are far from easy to keep. Their diet presents enormous problems, and the local zoo had shied away from the task.

Pool sought advice from Judy Arroyo at the famous sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica, who told her she must feed Loesje goat's milk - cow's milk would be fatal. But goat's milk is rarely available in Suriname and had to be sent over from the US. The leaves that sloths eat are also hard to source - and must be fresh.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26734289

[Earth_First]

1. One of wife's favorite animals...

Thanks for the OP!

[Hoyt]

2. Always thought sloths were cool. Even had a Tshirt design made featuring one, but never produced it.

[burrowowl]

3. A heroic Lady!

[passiveporcupine]

4. I'm so glad she took them on

What adorable creatures. I want to learn how to rehabilitate bats. I love sloths and bats.

[Curmudgeoness]

5. Bats are a problem to rehabilitate

since in most states, they are considered a rabies vector animal and cannot be released if they are rehabbed. And anyone who does rehab them must have rabies vaccines. Add to the rabies problem that there is the white-nose syndrome now and it would be quite a challenge.

[passiveporcupine]

6. we don't have rabies out here, but I will have to check out white nose...thanks n/t

[Mojorabbit]

10. We raise and release in Fl.

They are adorable as infants.

[Curmudgeoness]

11. That's good to hear.

In Texas when I was there, we were not able to take them in for rehabilitation. And in PA now, they cannot be rehabbed and released. All of this because of the rabies vector classification.

In all my years rehabbing, I only encountered one bat (maybe that is because I specialized in songbirds)...extremely interesting critters. The wings are so thin and soft and delicate, or so it seems....but they must be much stronger than they appear.

[lovemydog]

7. cool

[Hell Hath No Fury]

8. Cattle production --

The "slothageddons" she's experienced have been due to land being clear cut for cattle ranching.

Beef -- a cancer on our ecosystem.

[mackerel]

9. I heart sloths and their lifestyle