Boy or Girl? It's a sloth, so we don't know yet
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Zookeepers are waiting for a DNA test to learn whether Hattiesburg Zoo's baby sloth is a boy or a girl. That's because sloths' sex organs are internal.
Mammal curator Stephen Taylor says they'll have to send a bit of fur to a lab to learn the gender of the Hoffman's two-toed sloth born to Mo and Chewy.
Hey @IMKristenBell! We know you love sloths, but have you seen our new baby? ?? pic.twitter.com/NpOgoBVpxJ
— Hattiesburg Zoo (@HattiesburgZoo) February 17, 2017
Mama Mo, hanging upside-down with the baby resting on her tummy, was on public view Friday for the first time since giving birth Feb. 5.
The first days after birth are delicate for any animal, and Taylor says this baby didn't start suckling on its own. He says that after about half a day, zookeepers began feeding it puppy milk replacement from a syringe fitted with a nipple instead of a needle.