With a bit of luck, visitors will also be able to spot the baby sloth in the coming weeks. Those who are patient and look closely may be rewarded with a rare sight. So far, only one picture has been taken of the little sloth: an endearing image of the baby clinging tightly to its mother's belly. During the first few weeks of life, the infant stays glued to its protective mum and spends most of the day sleeping there - as the mum hangs upside down from a tree. Sloths sleep for between 15 and 20 hours a day. If you extrapolate this to their potential lifespan of up to 40 years, sloths sleep away 34 years of their lives.
To ensure that mum and baby can enjoy this crucial early period undisturbed, the enclosure has a retreat area where they can find privacy. As the baby becomes older, it becomes more curious, and by the age of three to five months will begin to explore its surroundings on its own. In the wild, the young remain with their mother for about one to two years.
It is not yet clear whether the baby sloth is male or female as it is almost impossible to determine the gender of sloths based on external physical characteristics alone. A medical examination is therefore required. However, this is not urgent. Females reach sexual maturity at around three years of age, while males mature at four to five.
Two-toed sloths are native to the rainforests of Central and South America and, like many other animal and plant species, suffer from deforestation and the resulting habitat loss. Although their way of life is not yet fully understood, we do know that they spend almost their entire lives hanging from tree branches. Their slow and infrequent movement is due to the low nutritional value of their diet, consisting mainly of leaves, and occasionally fruits. Surprisingly, sloths are good swimmers when they come into contact with water.
With sloths, the mum is solely responsible for raising the young. However, the dad does not need to be separated from his offspring. So the little sloth family of three is currently enjoying life together in their enclosure in the Rhino House.