Visitors to Dresden Zoo can now admire the offspring of a sloth. The young animal was born 20 days ago and is already the tenth offspring of mother Marlies. "The young animal is fit, healthy and lively and is putting on weight nicely," said keeper Olaf Lohnitz. At birth, the cub weighed 488 grams, now it is already more than 600 grams. Mother Marlies is taking very good care of it.
For a visit, Lohnitz recommends the regular feeding time daily between 11.00 and 11.30 am. This is the best time to see the young. Sloth children are real early developers, says Lohnitz. "By the sixth to seventh day at the latest, they also start to eat solid food." That's why the little one already gets soft food such as boiled carrot in addition to its mother's milk.
It was initially unclear whether it was a female or a male. Only when the animal is around three months old can a vet determine the sex using ultrasound. "With sloths, it is very difficult to make this clear externally because the animals' sexual organs are located internally," explained Lohnitz.
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