This month we are celebrating Millie, the two-fingered sloth! Millie came to us on a late afternoon in 2007. She was one month old and was found by SINAC/MINAE park rangers who said that her mother had died. They gave our founder, Leslie Howle, special warning not to get attached to her because she would probably die. Leslie then received similar warnings from others and was told that it is extremely hard to care for a baby sloth — but Leslie was determined to give Millie a chance at life.
Fourteen years and many sleepless nights later, Millie has transformed the Toucan Rescue Ranch into a multi-species rescue center and sanctuary, being our first ever rescued sloth and mammal ever! She enjoys hibiscus flowers, her blanket, and teaching others about the importance of sloth conservation.
Through rescuing her, we have been able to save hundreds of sloths and establish the Saving Sloths Together program in 2017 with the Sloth Institute of Costa Rica, a Costa Rica-wide project providing greater opportunity for sloths in need. By combining each organization’s skills and knowledge, we are able to improve the process of sloth rescue, rehabilitation and release in Costa Rica. Toucan Rescue Ranch is now internationally recognized in wildlife medicine and has the ability to rewild sloths that have been hand-raised in our care or fully rehabilitated in our clinic.
Millie has become quite popular over the years and is the subject of a book we’ve published, “Millie, the two-toed sloth: A Costa Rican rescue adventure.” She also has a large following on social media and became the educational ambassador for sloths, teaching supporters like you the importance of sloth conservation!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MILLIE!
This article was produced by the Toucan Rescue Ranch, which specializes in helping wild animals recover so that they can be reintroduced into the wild.
