This Baby Sloth Was Just Born At A Massachusetts Zoo And I Can’t Even Take How Cute It Is
Sometimes I have the BEST job ever, and today it includes a BABY SLOTH — it doesn’t get much better than that!
Have y’all ever seen a baby sloth? *SQUEE* They are just as cute — maybe more cute — than newborn puppies!
Massachusetts’ Buttonwood Park Zoo has been in the business of bringing animals to the public for 127 years, but this is the FIRST time they have ever delivered a baby sloth, and I’m loving it.
This wee tot is a Hoffman’s Two-Toed Sloth — which is the SLOWEST mammal on the earth. These sloths are so slow that algae has been known to form on their fur — this is what gives them their green-tinted camouflage from predators.
Sandy — the baby momma — was pregnant for about 11.5 months, and this is her first pregnancy.
Zookeepers were carefully monitoring and awaiting this monumental birth, eagerly checking on Sandy every morning.
Buttonwood Park Zoo
Did you know that two-toed sloths do EVERYTHING upside down? This includes mating and giving birth!!
BPZOO’s veterinarian, Dr. Erica Lipanovich, examined the baby at six days old. “Since this is Sandy’s first birth, we wanted to give her plenty of space to bond with baby before we performed an examination. We were able to quickly examine the baby at six days old, where it weighed in at 348 grams (roughly 0.76 pounds) – both baby and mom are doing exceptionally well.”
Buttonwood Park Zoo
This cute little slothlette — often called cubs, or pups, or simply baby sloths — who does NOT yet have a name, will cling to his mommy’s fur for about a year.
[Zookeepers] were ecstatic to discover the tiny baby – born fully eared, eyes open and able to climb on the morning of the 22nd. The baby will cling tightly to its mother’s fur, and young sloths remain near their mothers for around a year.
Buttonwood Park Zoo
That gives me PLENTY of time to take a road trip to Massachusetts to see it!
Sandy the sloth and Bernardo, baby’s dad, and little sloth baby are being given plenty of room to bond as a family — but that doesn’t stop the zookeepers from taking quick and discreet pictures.
OMG, I am dying, they are too cute for words!!
Zoo staff will continue to monitor the baby’s growth with weekly weight checks and will eventually determine the sex, which can be an incredibly tricky process in sloths.
Buttonwood Park Zoo
