ATLANTA — Move over to that minivan riding in the left lane on the Downtown Connector - there's a new slow poke in town!
Zoo Atlanta announced at the end of last month that a new two-toed sloth has joined their exhibit. Nutella is a 2-year-old female Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth, and will be featured in her new habitat in Zoo Atlanta's KIDZone.
“We’re excited to welcome Nutella to Zoo Atlanta," said Jennifer Mickelberg, PhD, Vice President of Collections and Conservation. “From specialized claws to internal organs that are rotated to accommodate a lifestyle spent almost entirely upside down, sloths have a fascinating place in the animal kingdom.”
Nutella came from her previous home at the Topeka Zoo in Topeka, Kansas. Zoo Atlanta acquired the new female sloth at the recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in order to breed with Cocoa, the male sloth at Zoo Atlanta. The partnership between the two, the zoo said, will be to help "ensure that zoological populations of the species remain healthy, genetically diverse and self-sustaining for future generations."
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According to Zoo Atlanta, Hoffmann's two-toed sloths are native to both Central and South America. While they're not current classified as endangered, the zoo says their wild populations face serious threats from habitat destruction, human encroachment and the pet trade.
Zoo Atlanta notes that sloths are not particularly social animals, and usually are not good as pets, but they point to viral social media content featuring sloths as an indirect consequence in the rise of private ownership of sloths, and other exotic pets.
After settling into her new home, and before meeting Cocoa, Nutella will be introduced to her new neighbors: adult female sloth Bonnie; Bonnie’s 8-month-old daughter, Willow; and Eva and Leao, the golden lion tamarins who share their habitat. Another adult female, Okra Mae, and male Cocoa currently live in another mixed-species sloth-tamarin habitat in the Zoo’s Brazilian Outpost area.
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