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COURTESY HONOLULU ZOO
A baby sloth born Monday at Honolulu Zoo snuggles next to its mother, Harriet.
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A baby sloth born Monday afternoon at Honolulu Zoo is now on public display with its mother.
The Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth, also known as a southern two-toed sloth, was born Monday afternoon but is too young for staff to determine its sex, so it will be named later.
This is the third baby sloth born at the zoo to mother Harriet and father Quando. The two other siblings — Opihi and Akala — are females and on display with their father. Opihi was born April 24, 2015, and Akala was born July 17, 2016.
The Honolulu Zoo participates in several of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums’ Species Survival Programs, which includes the two-toed sloth. Harriet and Quando are considered a genetically valuable pair.
Sloths give birth to one offspring at a time but do not readily breed in zoos. Two-toed sloths are nocturnal and sleep 16 to 18 hours per day, with a diet consisting of leaves and fruit. Offspring will stay with their mother for nine to 12 months.