This is the heartwarming moment an adorable sloth is rescued from a sandy ditch – by holding on to a makeshift pole.
Footage shows concerned passersby save the stuck animal’s life by lowering a branch down and letting the perturbed creature grab hold of it.
The 60-second clip, which appears to be filmed in Costa Rica, ends with the confused creature rushing off into the trees – free at last.
The video begins with a family of five discussing how to best rescue the little animal, whose back legs appear to be wedged into thick sand in a ditch by the roadside.
Digging its claws into the ground, it tries to drag itself out – with no success.
But the rescuers lower two very long branches down into the ditch, encouraging the helpless creature to grab hold of them.
This is the heartwarming moment an adorable sloth is rescued from a sandy ditch – by holding on to a makeshift pole
![Realising his efforts to dig himself out of the sand are not working, the sloth peers up at the family and down at the branches they have extended before grabbing hold of them](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/01/09/21/47F4E50D00000578-5251333-image-a-12_1515532527323.jpg)
Realising his efforts to dig himself out of the sand are not working, the sloth peers up at the family and down at the branches they have extended before grabbing hold of them
The woman filming the clip on her phone camera can be heard saying in Spanish: ‘We are helping him to get up.’
Realising his efforts to dig himself out of the sand are not working, the sloth stares up at the family and down at the branches they have extended.
He then wraps each claw around a branch and uses them to set his little legs free from the sludge.
![The adorable animal slowly slides up the sandy bank, wrapping his body around the branch as he reaches the top](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/01/09/21/47F4E50800000578-5251333-image-a-13_1515532543354.jpg)
The adorable animal slowly slides up the sandy bank, wrapping his body around the branch as he reaches the top
The footage then cuts to him sitting up on his bottom in a human-like pose with both claws clasping one branch.
Peering up at the rescuers expectantly, his neck craning to see what is happening above, he waits patiently to be lifted out.
The branch is carefully retracted and the adorable animal slowly slides up the sandy bank, wrapping his body around it as he reaches the top.
![One of the rescuers then lifts him several metres across the dirt track, positioning the branch at the foot of a tree](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/01/09/19/47F36A7500000578-5251333-image-a-4_1515526255516.jpg)
One of the rescuers then lifts him several metres across the dirt track, positioning the branch at the foot of a tree
![The 60-second clip, which appears to be filmed in Costa Rica, ends with the confused creature rushing off into the trees - free at last](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/01/09/21/47F36A7100000578-5251333-The_60_second_clip_which_appears_to_be_filmed_in_Costa_Rica_ends-a-10_1515531782927.jpg)
The 60-second clip, which appears to be filmed in Costa Rica, ends with the confused creature rushing off into the trees – free at last
One of the rescuers – a man wearing a FC Barcelona shirt with the name of footballing susperstar ‘Messi’ written on the back – then lifts him several metres across the dirt track, positioning the branch at the foot of a tree.
The sloth can then be seen clambering inelegantly off the branch and scuttling off into the forest.
![Notoriously lazy, they can spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping to conserve energy](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2018/01/09/19/47E36A5000000578-5251333-image-a-13_1515526823953.jpg)
Notoriously lazy, they can spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping to conserve energy
The video was published on CRHoy.com, a Costa Rican news website which often posts stories about cute and hapless sloths.
Two of the six sloth species live in the Latin American country: the Hoffman’s Two-toed Sloth and the Brown-throated Sloth.
Notoriously lazy, they can spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping to conserve energy.