In early 2019, an adult two-fingered sloth arrived at The Sloth Institute in Costa Rica after a power-line accident. Her name was Dolly, and the injury had damaged her left eye and taken away some of the movement in her right arm. For an animal whose life depends on gripping, climbing and moving safely through trees, that loss of mobility was a serious obstacle.
Dolly's story did not end at rescue. Months of careful treatment and rehabilitation helped her regain the use of her arm, swim as part of her recovery and eventually return to the rainforest. In September 2026, The Sloth Institute brought her story back into the spotlight by naming her its Sloth of the Month. It is a timely reminder that the best ending to a wildlife rescue is not permanent captivity. It is a safe return to a wild life.
A power-line injury changed everything
According to The Sloth Institute's original rescue update, Dolly had been electrocuted on a power line and had fallen from a transformer. Her left eye was injured, while her right arm had lost some mobility. The team provided immediate critical care. Her eye recovered, but the arm remained a problem.
Power lines are especially dangerous for tree-dwelling animals because a route that looks like another branch can carry a lethal electrical current. Sloths also live in landscapes where forest canopies are broken by roads, buildings and other infrastructure. When natural tree-to-tree routes disappear, animals may be pushed towards wires or the ground.
The Sloth Institute says most injured adult sloths entering its current programme arrive after electrocution incidents. That does not make every case the same. Each animal needs an individual assessment, and recovery must be measured against the skills it would need outside human care.
Recovery meant rebuilding useful movement
Dolly's carers tried an unusual treatment. The Institute reported that she received acupuncture with electrical stimulation from Dr Constant Boshoff, alongside ongoing rehabilitation. By the end of May 2019, the team said she could use her right arm and hand to climb again. You can read the Institute's treatment update here.
This was one animal's clinical story, not a controlled study proving that the same treatment will work for every injured sloth. That distinction matters. What the update does show is that rehabilitation was judged through function. Could Dolly grip? Could she climb? Could she use the injured limb in ways that mattered for life in the canopy?
Swimming also became part of her rehabilitation. Water supported her body while she moved her limbs, and footage shared by the Institute showed that this two-fingered sloth could swim. The important point was not a performance for people. It was another way for the care team to observe and develop movement before making a release decision.
Release is the goal, not the first step
By July 2019, The Sloth Institute reported that Dolly had recovered enough to return to the wild. Its release update said the movement in her arm and hand had returned and that she had overcome the limitations caused by her injury.
A responsible release is more than opening a cage. A sloth must be able to move, feed, respond to its surroundings and cope without relying on people. The right location matters too. The Institute's rescue, rehabilitation and release programme explains that release sites are matched to the region an animal came from. Depending on the case, a sloth may have a gradual soft release with temporary support, or a hard release without continuing human intervention. Some released sloths are monitored afterwards.
Those steps protect both the animal and the purpose of rehabilitation. A sloth that appears calm around people is not automatically ready for the forest. Readiness is about wild skills, health and independence, not how comfortable an animal looks in a photograph.
Why Dolly's story still matters
In its September 2026 update, The Sloth Institute described Dolly as living wild after her 2019 release. The organisation used her story to highlight the food, medical care, shelter and specialist work needed to give injured and orphaned sloths a chance to return home.
Her journey also makes a wider conservation problem easier to see. Rescue teams can help individual animals after an accident, but preventing the accident is better. Connected tree cover, safer crossings and wildlife-aware electrical infrastructure can reduce the need for emergency intervention in the first place.
There is something quietly hopeful in Dolly's story. She was not rescued so she could become an attraction. She was treated, tested against the demands of wild life and released when specialists judged her ready. Years later, the success is measured by her absence from human care.
What to do if you find an injured sloth
If you encounter an injured sloth, do not try to treat, feed or relocate it yourself. Contact the appropriate local wildlife rescue service or environmental authority and follow its instructions. Sloths have specialised needs, and a well-meant intervention can make assessment or release harder.
For everyone else, Dolly offers a simple lesson: support rescue organisations that put welfare, rehabilitation and return to the wild first. The most meaningful sloth encounter may be one that gives the animal more distance from people, not less.
Sources and image credit
- The Sloth Institute: Dolly the Sloth, A Life Fully Wild
- The Sloth Institute: Dolly's original rescue update
- The Sloth Institute: rehabilitation treatment update
- The Sloth Institute: Dolly's return to the wild
- The Sloth Institute: Rescue, Rehab, Release Program
Featured image: Dolly, courtesy of The Sloth Institute. Used from the organisation's September 2026 story about her recovery and release.