Two Little Balls of Fur | July 2026
Debbie and Kiwi remain, without a doubt, one of the sweetest pairs of sloths we monitor.
Kiwi is growing quickly, but that has not stopped her from staying very close to her mother. After one particularly long and rainy night, our tracking team found them near the main road looking like two small, soaking-wet balls of fur.
Debbie was curled tightly around Kiwi, sheltering her against her body so completely that only the baby’s little paws could be seen poking through. With the tide unusually high and the weather still unsettled, the pair appeared to be keeping each other warm while they waited for conditions to improve.
Once the rain eased, Debbie and Kiwi moved into one of the beach almond trees that form part of their familiar coastal home range. There, they settled among the branches facing the sea, still cuddled closely together.
Another two-fingered sloth we’re also monitoring, named Franklin, was resting nearby. Naturally, finding the three of them sharing the same small area made us wonder whether Franklin could be Kiwi’s father.
Franklin
Male two-fingered sloths do not help raise their young, so Kiwi’s close bond is entirely with Debbie. Proximity alone is not enough to confirm paternity, and without genetic testing, Franklin’s possible connection to Kiwi remains only an interesting possibility. Still, observations like this help us understand which sloths share the same habitat and may give us clues about relationships that would otherwise remain hidden high in the canopy.
For now, Debbie and Kiwi continue enjoying their coastal neighborhood together. Kiwi may be getting bigger, but she does not appear to be in any hurry to give up her favorite resting place. Most days, she is still cuddled so closely against her mother that it can be difficult to tell where Debbie ends and Kiwi begins.
Deborah
As Kiwi approaches the next stage of her development, we will continue watching for the first signs of independence and looking for a safe opportunity to fit her with a tracking collar.
Thank you, as always, for adopting Deborah and being part of her story. Your support allows us to continue monitoring her and Kiwi, learning more about their lives, and protecting the coastal forest they call home. We’ll see you in their next update!
