The San Diego Zoo announced the birth of a Linné’s two-toed sloth on Friday. The baby girl, whose name has yet to be revealved, was born to momma Xena at the Denny Sanford Wildlife Explorers Basecamp, which opened in March.
The cuddly, cutie has spent the weeks since her birth bonding with her mother. While she likes staying close to mom, the baby girl is already showing signs being an advanced learner. At just 3 days old she began eating solid foods (a week earlier than is typical) and she's already hanging upside down all on her own.
“Xena is taking excellent care of her baby as it continues to grow and thrive every day,” Clint Lusardi, a wildlife care manager at the San Diego Zoo, said in a statement. “Our team of wildlife care specialists have been interacting with Xena and the baby from day one and we are proud to slowly start introducing the little one to our guests, giving them the chance to learn about this amazing species.”
Visitors who would like to see the baby and her mom, can purchase the Zoo's Exclusive VIP Experience which includes a presentation with the sloth at the Wildlife Explores Basecamp, visit SanDiegoZooWildlifeAlliance.org for more details.
The San Diego Zoo's release provided these details about sloths:
Native to the tropical and cloud forests of Central and South America, sloths are slow-moving, nocturnal creatures that spend almost their entire life upside down in the trees. They eat, sleep, mate, and give birth from this position, using their curved, sharp claws to hang onto the tree branches.
Sloths have long had a reputation for being lazy. The reason they move so slowly has a lot to do with what they eat: a variety of leaves, stems, buds and some fruit. Due to the low nutritional value of their leafy diet, sloths usually move at a leisurely pace and sleep a great deal, looking for food at night.