Video of a sloth being carried along a roadway to safety went viral. Many viewers said it was ‘too pure’.
The footage, captured by Adriane Gonçalves Serrão of Caieiras, Brazil, shows the moment a man swooped down to pick up a sloth that was attempting to cross a road and take it to a nearby tree.
The clip was then shared online. TwitterThe sloth appears to turn around, and he touches his hand gently with his three-fingered-paw.
It was a beautiful interaction that made animal lovers smile and say it was their favorite thing.
An expert said that the animal was actually protecting itself against a threat and was not grateful for the help.
The footage, captured by Adriane Gonçalves Serrão of Caieiras, Brazil, shows the moment a man swooped down to pick up a sloth that was attempting to cross a road (left) and take it to a nearby tree (right)
After the viral video was released, people praised the “beautiful” interaction of the sloths and stated that they are too pure for the world.
To save the dog, the Good Samaritan pulled over and stopped traffic.
Adult sloths can travel at speeds up to 0.27km/h. Humans, on the other hand, walk 5km an hour.
The man gently picked the animal up using a towel, prying his paws off the road.
He gently lifted the animal to the trunk of a tree and then patted it on the back.
After carefully grabbing the sloth, the man used a white towel to transport it safely.
It was lifted by the man. The animal then turned its back to see him and extended his arm right. Although it appeared to say “Thank you”, it actually means that the animal is protecting itself.
Once it had found the right branch, the animal turned and extended his arm towards the man in what many believed was an expression of thanksgiving.
Dr Rebecca Cliffe is the founder and executive director at the Sloth Conservation Foundation. She explained to us that the sloth was actually trying to defend itself.
She explained that some people assume that when sloths raise their arms in this way, they mean that they wave hello or say hello. Or even ask for a hug. It is totally false.
Sloths are prey animals that have no way of protecting themselves from predators.
They do it to appear bigger when feeling scared or threatened. This is actually a stress response, which many people miss.
Many people were smitten by the touching interaction.
However, few people correctly understood the message and took to Twitter in celebration.
One posted: ‘Just one of the most beautiful thankyou’s I have ever seen! This is a wonderful clip. Thank you! This is beyond beautiful.
‘Actual tears,’ said one, while another wrote: ‘They are too pure for this world.’
‘I’ll be watching this video the rest of the day if anyone needs me,’ another said.
“Thank you” was another response.