Hanging with mom: Newborn sloth welcomed at Cincinnati Zoo
Lightning the sloth has no more need to cuddle with a little, plushie sloth. The mama sloth at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has the real thing now: She is snuggling her newborn baby.
The zoo announced Friday that it has welcomed the baby sloth, who is safe with mom. The baby, born at 7:35 p.m. Wednesday, appears to be healthy and strong.
The mom and baby sloth, called Linnaeus's two-toed sloths, have two toes with claws on the front feet and three toes on the back feet, used to hang upside down from branches. And this baby has all its toes, as far as the caregivers can see. They're giving mom time to hang with her newborn without any interruptions.
This little one – whose sex is unknown for now – is the first baby sloth the zookeeper team has cared for, said Cincinnati Zoo’s manager of ambassador animals, Julie Grove. “We are beyond excited that the baby is finally here! We’re ready to provide support to Lightning as she navigates being a mom.”
It may be some time before the sex of the infant is determined. It is difficult to identify the gender of a sloth and often requires DNA testing to know for sure. Baby names are being discussed, and the zoo plans to announce the selection next week.
Cincinnati Zoo: Lightning the sloth on birth watch, baby to be born in coming weeks
Before the baby was born, for a few weeks, the sloth care team had been putting a tiny stuffed sloth on Lightning as a way of conditioning her to get comfortable with them removing it so she’s more relaxed when the time comes for them to handle the real baby.
When will the baby sloth eat? Will it hang upside down soon?
The baby will start to nibble on solid foods when it's about 10 days old and will continue to nurse for about a month. After that, the youngster will cling to its mom's belly and eat whatever she eats.
So when will the baby hang upside down? That usually starts on its own at 20 to 25 days.
The baby’s dad, Moe, 23, moved to the P&G Discovery Forest in the zoo’s education center when 10-year-old Lightning entered a cranky phase of her pregnancy and made it clear that it was time to separate.
Linne’s two-toed sloths are not considered endangered but are becoming increasingly vulnerable due to human encroachment and activity. Funds generated through Cincinnati Zoo’s private sloth encounters are used to care for Moe and Lightning and to support conservation partner The Sloth Institute and its efforts to protect sloths in the Costa Rican rainforest.
Mom and baby are bonding behind the scenes, so visitors will not be able to see them for a while. Follow @CincinnatiZoo on social media to see sloth baby updates.
The zoo opens daily at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Zoo: Two-toed sloth born to mother named Lightning
