Wild Florida welcomes new baby sloth 'Banana'

LAKE MARY, Fla. - This week, Wild Florida announced the arrival of the newest two-toed, or "two-fingered," sloth to join their sloth family. Banana was born to mom Anna and father Guy. Guy was the first sloth to join the Wild Florida family. 

Wild Florida offers a VIP Sloth Experience, which it describes as "an exclusive and one-of-a-kind animal encounter" with its two-toed sloths. Wild Florida says a portion of funds raised by the VIP Sloth Experience are donated to the APPC Panama to help their efforts in the preservation and conservation.

According to the APPC, there are two living species of two-fingered sloth. These include: Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth (choloepus hoffmanni); and Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (choloepus didactylus)

Fast Facts:

• The lifespan of a sloth in the wild is still not known but believed to be around 15 to 20 years. Captive sloths have been known to reach 40-50 years. However, sloths were not bred in captivity until 50 years ago.
• Two-fingered sloths actually have three toes on the hind limb.
• Two-fingered sloths are much larger than their three-fingered counterparts.
• Two-fingered sloths are more active and generally faster-moving than three-fingered sloths.
• Two-fingered sloths can reach a length of up to 32 inches and weigh up to 24 pounds (although the average is 13-20 pounds).
• Two-fingered sloths have one of the slowest digestive rates for any mammal, with approximately 30 days being taken for the passage of food from ingestion to excretion.
• Two-fingered sloths will only relieve themselves once every five days, and will only do it on the ground.
• Two-fingered sloths have a gestation period of 11.5 months. Females give birth to a single young, usually weighing between .7  pounds to a full pound. The baby is born with fully formed teeth and eyes open.
• A baby sloth is thought to stay with the mother for a full 12 months.
• The two-fingered sloth's habitat is primarily in the tropical rainforests in South America
• A sloth's diet in the wild includes leaves, twigs, flowers, and occasionally fruit.
• Natural predators are big cats and snakes. However, one of the biggest threats is due to the rapidly expanding human population and urbanization.

Wild Florida is open Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Reservations can be made Monday through Saturday, between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wild Florida is closed on Sundays.  Phone: 407-957-3135 or toll-free at 866-532-7167. Wild Florida is located at 3301 Lake Cypress Rd.,  Kenansville, FL 34739. More on the Wild Florida website.