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Meet the newest (and slowest) baby at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo baby sloth
Baby sloth
Posted at 8:29 AM, May 16, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-12 13:16:16-04

UPDATE (Aug. 12) — The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo announced that the sloth baby born in May has been named Bean. The zoo said keepers are still not sure what gender the sloth is. Visitors can see Bean and the rest of the sloth family in the zoo's Monkey Pavilion.

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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs welcomed a new baby this week. But no rush getting down there – it won't be going anywhere soon.

A Hoffman's two-toed sloth, a cute but infamously slow-moving mammal, was born Tuesday at 12:15 p.m., the zoo announced.

First-time parents, mom Chalupa, 19, and dad Bosco, 27, have lived together for four years. Still, the pregnancy came as a surprise. The two hadn't shown any signs of breeding, the zoo said, but sloths are nocturnal "so breeding could have occurred after Zoo hours."

"This baby was worth the wait, though," Joanna Husby, the zoo's monkey pavilion animal care manager, said in the announcement. "It's pretty cute, with dark fur, really dark eyes and the most adorable little nose."

The zoo won't know the sloth's gender for months, and there's no plans just yet to name the baby. Chalupa and her newborn can be seen in the monkey pavilion, but will stay in an exhibit with more privacy for a few more months, the zoo said.

Sloths, by the way, actually are one of the slowest animals on Earth. They spend most of their time hanging from tree branches, where they'll sleep 15-20 hours per day, according to National Geographic.