He Was on the Zip Line. Then, a Surprise Obstacle

A young boy experienced quite a ride during a zip-lining expedition in Costa Rica, with an unexpected surprise along the way. Go Adventure Arenal Park posted a video this week showing the excited child, filmed by the guide behind him, as he began his swoosh through the rainforest. "No brake," the guide advises as they both glide through the trees, picking up speed. Just a few seconds after "takeoff," however, the boy can be seen suddenly slamming into something in his path, prompting the guide to tell him, "Don't worry, don't worry." "It's a sloth!" the boy exclaims. "I just clocked it straight in the face."

Park owner Flavio Leiton Ramos tells KABC that seven people descended from the same platform minutes before the boy and his guide did. Ramos praised the pair for how they calmly handled the situation. "Really, the child did a great job," he says, noting that neither human nor creature was hurt. Ramos adds to USA Today that that particular sloth has been seen in the park before, though no one's ever crashed into it while zip lining. He thinks the sloth likely lowered itself onto the line from a nearby tree. CBS News reports the boy and the guide had to wait about 15 minutes before the sloth vacated the line and they could get by. It's not clear how the animal got down. (More strange stuff stories.)