Debbie… but where is Kiwi? | September 2026
Debbie is settling into life as a solo sloth, and Kiwi's whereabouts have become the mystery of the month.
Since Kiwi left her side, Debbie has been staying quiet in her tree near the road. Without a baby to carry, she seems to move a lot less, which is understandable after months of motherhood. On one especially hot day, it took the team a while to track her down, but we finally found her resting in a beach hibiscus, a very old tree which was the favourite hang out spot of one of our tracked sloths from back in the day: Mango.
Franklin, the other sloth in the area which is part of the monitored family, has been visiting some of the same spots as Debbie, so there seem to be a few "golden spots" the two of them alternate between.
Our last sighting of Debbie with Kiwi.
So what about Kiwi?
Our researcher thinks Kiwi was already quite large and may have reached the stage of becoming independent. In two-fingered sloths (Choloepus), young typically start to gain independence at around 6 to 9 months, and Kiwi spent about seven months at Debbie's side. So it's possible Kiwi has started exploring the Playa Negra area alone.
It’s quite unusual that we haven't seen Kiwi since they became independent, but we haven't found a baby sloth in the area, alive or deceased. Perhaps they dispersed far away into a completely new area, which is possible. For now, we simply don't know exactly what happened. We'll keep our eyes open and share any news as soon as we have it.
For now, we're happy to see Debbie enjoying her quiet new chapter, and we'll keep following her as she settles into life on her own.
