ZSL London Zookeeper Steps in to Hand-Rear Baby Two-Toed Sloth

Zookeeper Kelly-Anne Kelleher has taken on the role of surrogate mum, with the help of a special teddy-bear, to ZSL London Zoo’s newest arrival; a tiny baby sloth.

Born to second-time parents Marilyn and Leander, the seven week old, two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) needed a helping hand when his mum stopped producing milk, and became unable to care for her infant.

Due to his impressive claws, the young male has been named Edward by the keepers, after Johnny Depp’s famous character, Edward Scissorhands. They’ll grow up to four inches in length and enable him to cling on and climb easily through the tree-top branches of his Rainforest Life home.

Keeper Kelly-Anne has customised his sloth-teddy with carabiners so that it can be hung from a branch, so Edward can build up the muscles he would usually have by holding on to mum. This enables the youngster to climb on and strengthen his little limbs.

These mammals (native to South America) are notoriously slow, as well as nocturnal, and baby Edward is no exception, with Kelly-Anne often having to wait for him to stir from a deep slumber before being able to feed him.

Kelly said, “We’re bottle feeding Edward every three hours with goat’s milk, topped with some vitamins to keep him fit and health. Just like with human baby formula, we heat it up until it’s at room temperature, and test its warmth on our wrists – it took him a few days to get used to the bottle, but now he’s hungrily suckling as soon as we give it to him.”

She added, “If he’s feeling particularly hungry, he makes a very funny noise to let us know – a sound somewhere between a squeak and a sneeze, but it’s very loud and he makes his point!”

Kelly-Anne keeps detailed records on everything the infant does, from eating to sleeping, even logging Edward’s potty-habits! Sloths leave their high tree-top habitats only once a week to go to the toilet, so by keeping track of his poop, Edward’s keepers can account for any weight losses or gains.

A valuable addition to the European breeding programme for his species, Edward’s details will be added to the international studbook, which is shared with zoos around the world. Visit www.zsl.org to find out more.