Honolulu Zoo bids aloha to two-toed sloth Harriet
COURTESY THE HONOLULU ZOO
Harriet, a female Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth at Honolulu Zoo, has died following a battle with kidney disease. She is pictured here with her son Pono.
The Honolulu Zoo announced Monday that Harriet, its resident two-toed sloth, died Oct. 26 due to the progression of kidney disease. She was estimated to be at least 14 years old.
Honolulu Zoo Director Linda Santos said veterinary, curator and keeper staff made the difficult decision to euthanize Harriet after several months of intensive treatment for her kidney disease.
“Harriet was a lovable sloth and a very good mother,” said Santos in a news release. “She allowed staff to work with her and her offspring and enjoyed being hand-fed healthy treats including her favorite mountain apple grown on zoo grounds. The zoo staff, visitors and viewers of the live sloth cam will all miss her dearly.”
Harriet, a Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth, arrived at the Honolulu Zoo in December 2013 after previously giving birth, according to zoo officials. Two months later, she was introduced to her new mate Quando as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan. Harriet’s mate, daughters Opihi and Liko, and son Pono are housed in the zoo’s sloth exhibits.
They became a valuable breeding pair, producing seven offspring — six females and one male — at Honolulu Zoo.
“Their breeding success has given the zoo staff valuable hands-on experience in the pregnancy, birth and rearing of sloths,” said zoo officials in the release, “and provided zoos with data including videos of live births, as very little on sloth births has been documented elsewhere.”
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With data from Harriet and Quando, the Honolulu Zoo staff in May published “Observations of Reproduction in the Captive Linnaeus’s Two-toed Sloth at the Honolulu Zoo” in the journal Animal Keepers’ Forum.
The mammals from Central and South America typically sleep 15 to 18 hours during the day, mostly while hanging upside down, according to the San Diego Zoo. They wake at night to feed on a diet of mostly leaves and fruits.
Sloth mothers give birth to only one offspring at a time, with the sloth baby clinging to its belly for about five weeks before moving on its own. The sloth’s median life expectancy is 15 years.
Harriet is survived by her mate Quando; daughters Opihi and Liko; and son Pono, who are housed in the zoo’s sloth exhibits.
