Pregnant sloth at New England zoo will take her time before giving birth — almost a year
Sloths are slow-moving in all facets of life — even pregnancy.
A zoo in Rhode Island announced in a post on Facebook this week complete with an ultrasound photo that one of its sloths is pregnant.
“We’re expecting 2020 to be a GREAT year!” Roger Williams Park Zoo said in the post. “What better way to celebrate International #SlothDay than with a little one on the way? Congratulations Fiona and Wesley!”
Five-year-old Fiona is one of the zoo’s three two-toed sloths, zoo spokesperson Diane S. Nahabedian told McClatchy news group Thursday — and her gestation will last between 10 and 12 months.
This may not be surprising, given the sloth’s notoriety in the animal kingdom for its lethargy.
But animal experts will tell you a sloth’s slowness is actually a survival skill, Becky Cliffe, a researcher at Swansea University, wrote in an article for The Conversation.
“They are energy-saving mammals taking life at a slow pace to avoid the rush and tumble for food, while subscribing (to) the movement patterns that help them avoid being identified as prey,” Cliffe said. “There must be a lesson somewhere in that for all of us.”
The slow-moving sloth also — of course — has to mate. But it’s about as amusing as you might imagine.
A female sloth will yell a “shrill, monotone mating scream” when she’s ready for the dance to begin, Live Science reported. But more than one male could feasibly respond.
“If more than one male answers this call, the suitors will fight for her by hanging from branches by their feet and swiping at each other,” according to the science news site. “These altercations, though rare, can be surprisingly violent.”
Nahabedian said zookeepers didn’t see Wesley and Fiona mate, but they suspected in August she might be pregnant and did an ultrasound.
“This is Fiona’s first pregnancy, and the first time Roger Williams Park Zoo has had a pregnant sloth – we are very excited,” she said.
The “fully-furred, eyes open,” tree climbing baby sloth is expected in May or June, according to the zoo.
Sloths mate and give birth in trees as they do everything else — except pooping.
Pooping is an extremely harrowing, weekly occurrence during which they can “lose up to one-third of their body weight,” Cliff told the Washington Post. They also become extremely vulnerable to predators.
“Once on the ground, the sloth does what Cliffe calls a ‘poo dance’ which helps to create a small hole in the soil for the scat to go in,” according to the Post. “Post-defecation, the sloth does another quick Truffle Shuffle before clambering right back up the tree it came down.”
Lucky for Fiona and the baby, there aren’t predators in captivity.
This story was originally published October 24, 2019 at 1:49 PM.
