Leia and Ben Solo

Meet Leia and Ben Solo: Two very special, very resilient sloths that were in Toucan Rescue Ranch's care. This mother (named Princess Leia) and son (named Ben Solo) duo were first discovered after falling from the rainforest canopy, plunging 20 meters to the ground. 

And while little Ben Solo was thankfully unharmed, Mama Leia was left severely injured and unable to move. Luckily, the owner of the property saw the horrific fall and rushed to their aid; he quickly notified rescuers at TRR and remained with the pair until help arrived. Thankfully, little Ben Solo had no severe injuries, and was overall, a healthy, alert, and responsive juvenile! During his time at Toucan Rescue Ranch, he was transferred to our Release Site where he fine-tuned his skills to live an independent life once put back into the wild. 

Mama Leia, on the other hand, needed a bit more help. Unfortunately, the impact of the fall left her with a severely broken humerus – one that required emergency orthopedic surgery to fix. But during her pre-op tests, our vet team discovered some unexpected news: This little lady is pregnant, once again! And with one baby waiting for her to feel better and another one on the way, waiting was not an option. We needed to fix that arm! The orthopedic surgery went as well as anyone could have hoped. Doctors placed a fixation with a pin to help set the injury, and Leia recovered smoothly. 

After nearly 2 months, the pins were finally removed! And even better news, ultrasounds indicated that her unborn baby was doing just as great! On November 4 a small TRR team headed back to Leia and Ben's original home. Side-by-side they sat in the back of the car not knowing what awaited. Once we finally arrived, we headed near where they were originally found, in a beautiful forest with lots of trees, a creek, and plenty of shelter and food. 

A big thank you to Ben and Leia's symbolic adopters for supporting them on their rescue, rehab, and release journey. Also, sending love to all those who donated to their CUDDLY crowdfunding campaign. You ALL helped us make this miracle story, possible!