CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden confirmed on Thursday that Lightning the sloth is pregnant and due this summer.
The announcement comes on International Sloth Day. Officials said they found a fetal heartbeat during an ultrasound in September.
The news is exciting for the zoo after Lightning, who is a 10-year-old, two-toed sloth, became pregnant last year in October and delivered a stillborn.
“Lightning is in good health, and we remain optimistic that she will deliver a healthy baby,” said Cincinnati Zoo’s zoological manager Julie Grove. “To make sure she gets plenty of rest and TLC, we are going to keep her behind the scenes until she gives birth. If all goes well, visitors will get to see Lightning and baby in July. Moe is in Discovery Forest and can be seen during regular Zoo hours.”
Moe, 23, is Lightning's partner.
Following last year's tragedy, the zoo waited to put Lightning and Moe together. But officials said the two showed immediate interest in each other.
Lightning came to Cincinnati in 2019 on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan and was introduced to Moe in December of that year, according to the zoo.
Moe has been an ambassador for the species in Cincinnati since 2006. Moe was orphaned in the wild and was taken care of by humans to survive.
"This sloth species, Linne’s two-toed sloth, is not considered endangered but is becoming increasingly vulnerable due to human encroachment and activity," the zoo wrote in the press release. "Funds generated through Cincinnati Zoo’s private sloth encounters are used to care for Moe and Lightning and to support conservation partner The Sloth Institute and its efforts to protect sloths in the Costa Rican Rainforest."
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