It’s a girl!

This past November, Zoo Atlanta welcomed a baby Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth! My name is Morgan, and I am a member of the Sloth Care Team, and last week we announced the new name and sex of Bonnie’s baby sloth. After almost 15,000 votes, she has been named Willow.

Being a part of this celebration was an exciting experience. Going back to the beginning, I was there on the day Willow was born and got to see her first moments in life. Over the past few months, watching Willow grow has been a great experience. She has started to venture out on her own, but is still hanging out on Mom most of the time. Hoffmann’s two-toed sloths normally stay near their mothers for the first year of their life. At first Willow was just nursing, and now she has gotten bold enough to take produce right out of Mom’s mouth. Some of her favorites are green beans and yellow squash.

Leading up to the reveal, the care team did not even know the results of the sex test, which was done through a DNA test using a hair sample. On the day of the reveal, I was just as surprised as the rest of the viewers. As part of the Sloth Care Team, we had a blast decorating their habitat with pink and blue streamers and our reveal box. Willow is continuing to grow and showing more personality each and every day. Make sure to come and check her and mom Bonnie out in the summer when they will be in their outdoor habitat.
Morgan Y.
Seasonal Keeper, Primates
(photo by Morgan Y.)