Buttercup, an orphaned sloth, sits in her basket chair.


It began with a knock on the door. Judy Avey-Arroyo opened it. T ree girls stood on her doorstep. One of them held a small bundle. It was wrapped like a baby in a blanket. Avey-Arroyo pulled back the edge


of the blanket. A tiny, fuzzy face stared up at her. It was a baby sloth.


Meeting a Sloth T e sloth was an orphan. Its mother had died. T e girls were hoping that Avey-Arroyo could take care of it. She and her family owned a hotel


in Central America. She had never seen a sloth before. Yet without help, she knew the sloth would die. She would take care of it.


4 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER


Baby Buttercup She named the sloth Buttercup. T e sloth had a short body and very long arms. Her fur looked rough, but it felt soſt . Buttercup had three fingers on her


front paws. Each finger had a long, curved claw. T e claws were sharp. Buttercup’s mouth was full of tiny


teeth. Was she old enough to eat solid food? Avey-Arroyo wasn’t sure. In fact, she didn’t know much


about sloths. She only knew that wild sloths live in trees and eat leaves. So she picked some tree leaves and gave them to Buttercup. T e sloth bit one. T en she stuff ed all of them into her mouth. Yum!


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