Sloth couple celebrate Father’s Day with a new baby at Georgia zoo. See the cuteness
On Father’s Day, some dads get a hand drawn card or a “World’s Best Dad” mug.
For 30-year-old sloth Cocoa, Father’s Day this year was particularly special.
Cocoa, a Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth and resident of Zoo Atlanta, welcomed a new baby with fellow sloth Nutella on June 18, the zoo announced in a June 19 Facebook post.
Nutella, 6, is a first time mom, but the new baby adds to Cocoa’s brood, the zoo said.
Sloth “pregnancies are not easily confirmed unless detected via X-ray or ultrasound,” the zoo said.
“Although sloths are famous for their slow movements, sloth infants develop at a notably more rapid pace than do most other mammal babies,” the zoo said. “They are born fully furred, with their eyes open and teeth already present, and have fully developed claws for clinging to their mothers.”
The zoo said Bonnie, another female Hoffmann’s sloths at Zoo Atlanta, is also expecting a baby, likely to be born in the next few weeks.
Sloths are found throughout Central America and parts of South America and spend the majority of their lives upside down in the tropical rainforest, according to Zoo Atlanta.
Sloths can sleep as much as 15 hours a day, moving only to find food and water. Hoffmann’s sloths weigh between 9 and 20 pounds and eat tree leaves and an occasional fruit, according to the zoo.
The species isn’t threatened in the wild, but Nutella and Cocoa were brought together as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan, “which seeks to maintain healthy, genetically diverse, and self-sustaining animal populations in accredited zoos.”
Nutella, and her new baby, made their public debut and can be seen daily in the sloth’s summer habitat, the zoo said.
This story was originally published June 20, 2023 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Sloth couple celebrate Father’s Day with a new baby at Georgia zoo. See the cuteness."
