A video of a sloth being carried across a road to safety has gone viral, with viewers saying it is ‘too pure for this world’.
The footage, captured by Adriane Gonçalves Serrão of Caieiras, Brazil, shows the moment a man swooped down to pick up a sloth that was attempting to cross a road and take it to a nearby tree.
At the end of the clip, which was shared on Twitter, the sloth turns around and seems to thank the man by gently touching his hand with his three-fingered-paw.
Animal lovers swooned over the ‘beautiful’ interaction and said it was the ‘best thing they had seen’.
However an expert warned the sloth was not thanking the rescuer, but was protecting itself from a perceived threat.
The footage, captured by Adriane Gonçalves Serrão of Caieiras, Brazil, shows the moment a man swooped down to pick up a sloth that was attempting to cross a road (left) and take it to a nearby tree (right)
People lauded the ‘beautiful’ interaction and said sloths are ‘too pure for this world’ after the video went viral
The Good Samaritan stopped traffic and parked his car in the middle of the road to rescue the animal, which was slowly making its way across.
An adult sloth can reach speeds of up to 0.27 km/h. In comparison, humans walk at an average pace of 5km per hour.
The man gently picked the animal up using a towel, prying his paws off the road.
Once he had crossed the road, he gently held the animal up to a tree trunk for it to latch onto, and patted its back reassuringly.
The man carefully grabbed the sloth with a white towel before taking it to safety, pictured
After it got a lift, the animal turned around to look at the man, left, and then extended its arm to him, right. Viewers thought it looked like a ‘thank you’ – but actually it’s a sign of protection
After it found the best branch to stick to, the animal turned around and extended its arm to the man, in a gesture many took to be a show of gratitude.
However Dr Rebecca Cliffe, founder and executive director of the Sloth Conservation Foundation, explained the sloth was trying to protect itself.