For a long time, experts believed that sloths consume all of their water from leaves they consume as part of their diet. Just a few cases of sloths drinking water in the wild have been documented so far, making it a particularly rare sight. However, we are now able to witness this thanks to a video recently shared by sloth scientist Dr. Rebecca Cliffe.
The video, posted on Dr. Cliffe’s Instagram, shows a mama sloth climbing down a vine while holding a baby in her arms. Once they reach the surface of the water, they both take a few sips before climbing back up.
Dr. Cliffe offered more information about the phenomenon in the video caption. According to her, there is a special river in Costa Rica where sloths regularly come down from the trees to drink water. Being “creatures of habit,” sloths enjoy their refreshment in the same intervals, “every sunny day at 11 am and 2 pm.” And it is pretty fascinating how they learn when is the right time to do so.
“Baby sloths spend a long time with mom, mimicking her every move, even learning the perfect time to take a refreshing drink!” Dr. Cliffe explains.
