September 30, 2025
Provided image/Elmwood Park Zoo
Elmwood Park Zoo will unveil its baby sloth to the public Wednesday. The 1-month-old animal was born to mom Beanie (both pictured above) in August.
Elmwood Park Zoo will soon introduce visitors to its newest resident.
The Norristown attraction is readying its baby two-toed sloth for a public debut Wednesday. The tiny treehugger, born in August to mom Beanie, will be visible inside the Harmony Hideaway section.
The zoo's veterinary team does not know the gender of the 1-month-old animal. Baby sloths cling so tightly to their mother for their first months of life that thorough exams are not possible until later, typically around their first birthdays. In fact, the vets can only weigh the baby and perform routine checks of its eyes, heart and lungs by offering it a surrogate mom — a pink axolotl plushie — during its checkups. It currently weighs two pounds.
For now, the zoo staff is calling the little guy or girl "Beanie's baby."
"Beanie is a fantastic mom, and the baby is thriving — eating well, clinging closely, and hitting all the right early milestones," Michele Goodman, director of animal care at Elmwood Park Zoo, said in a statement. "We’re excited for guests to see those quiet, up-close moments that make sloths so special."
The vestibule and walk-through section of Harmony Hideaway had been closed while the baby bonded with Beanie. The mother is a newcomer to the zoo herself, having arrived in March from the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island. Beanie had become pregnant at her previous home and traveled to Norristown midway through the gestation period, generally the "safest time for them to move," according to Elmwood Park Zoo. Both sites were aware of Beanie's pregnancy and coordinated her care.
With the baby's arrival, there are now three sloths at Harmony Hideaway. The zoo welcomed Liana in 2021.
This story has been updated with additional information on the baby sloth.
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