It may be the slowest "rescue video" in history—but that's because the animal who was thought to be in need was a sloth.

The treetop mammal was found in a river current in central Panama by a group of resort workers who described it as "scared, wet and hungry."

They might not have known that sloths by nature are surprisingly strong swimmers.

The adorable ‘rescue' was captured by phone on March 13 and reportedly took place at Junglewood Falls on the Mamoní River.

The video shows the sloth clinging onto some rocks and a clever youth offers it a branch to climb onto.

Slowly, ever slowly, the sloth moved each claw to eventually grab hold of the limb, which allowed the drenched animal to be carried by the kind men through a field of boulders and released into the forest once more.

It seemed grateful for the lift back to its leafy habitat and it started eating immediately—and probably surveying for a place to sleep, because that's what the species does for 15 hours every day.

(WATCH the video below)

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