Latte is an adult surrogate mother to the Ranch’s baby sloths, a fact made evident by her significantly larger mass when sitting among her foster children. While unfortunately not releasable due to health-related factors, Latte serves as an important security blanket to the younger babies. Latte’s maternal instincts were discovered after Chispa (who had arrived to the Ranch with her mother) became orphaned after her mother passed from a seizure, devastating the hapless baby. Around the same time, Latte had lost her companion Mocha. Hoping to calm the heartbroken sloths, Chispa and Latte were paired together. To their caretakers’ joy, Latte reached out to Chispa and drew the distraught baby close to her body for comfort. Since then, Latte’s role as mother sloth has been set in stone. Oftentimes, many of the babies shamelessly pile onto Latte, even occasionally obscuring her from view. Even while taking leisurely strolls along the bamboo-climbing frame, Latte will sometimes have a baby or two in tow. While Latte may stick out among her tiny companions, the role she plays at the Ranch has been hugely significant for any distressed baby.

 

 

By sloth nanny and intern Mitch Deskovick | You can learn more about updates like this by subscribing to our newsletter!