St. Paul's Como Zoo welcomes sloth baby a year after devastating loss

It was a special Mother's Day at Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minnesota, where two sloths became parents again after a heartbreaking loss last year.

The proud parents are Ziggy and Sago, according to senior zookeeper Jill Erzar.

"They've been together since they arrived here in '23," Erzar said. "Sago is mom, she's 7 years old, and Ziggy is dad and he is 4."

The pregnancy lasted around 10 months. Now, Ziggy is hiding in a cave as Sago bonds with her baby.

"We are so excited to welcome any babies, but this one was especially heartwarming following last year's loss," Erzar said.

Sago and Ziggy lost their first baby last year at only 3 weeks old. Erzar says their new baby is much stronger.   

"People love to come watch them, even though, honestly, they sleep 18 hours out of the day," Erzar said.

Sloths have been around thousands of years and used to be as big as elephants. Thankfully, they're much smaller now and occupy the canopy of South America's rainforests.

"There's just something very charismatic about them," Erzar said.

She says they'll wait on naming the newborn.  

"We have not discussed names yet, and sloths gender are very hard to see at first," Erzar said.

She's hoping it's a girl. Erzar says sloths tend to live about 20 years, but in captivity they can live more than 30.