Cincinnati Zoo sloth pregnant, expecting baby next summer

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Zoo is expecting a new baby sloth next year.

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According to WXIX and WLWT, the Ohio attraction announced Thursday that Linne’s two-toed sloth Lightning, 10, is pregnant. Officials believe the pup, fathered by Moe, will arrive in the early summer, the zoo said in a news release.

The news came about a year after Lightning gave birth to a stillborn pup, the zoo said.

“We waited several months before putting the sloth pair back together after Lightning delivered a stillborn baby last October,” Julie Grove, the facility’s zoological manager, said in a statement. “They showed immediate interest in each other and did what we were hoping they would do!”

Grove said animal care workers are “optimistic” about the pregnancy, adding that Lightning “is in good health.”

“To make sure she gets plenty of rest and TLC, we are going to keep her behind the scenes until she gives birth,” Grove’s statement continued. “If all goes well, visitors will get to see Lightning and baby in July.”

Linne’s two-toed sloths are native to South America, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Although the organization does not consider the animals threatened, vulnerable or endangered, the zoo said the species is becoming more at risk “due to human encroachment and activity.”

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