ZooBorns

Help Name This Baby Sloth!

The National Aquarium in Baltimore's baby Sloth is ready for a name! Following two weeks of accepting name suggestions from the public as part of a baby sloth naming contest, the aquarium is excited to announce the following four names for final consideration:

• Iris – In honor of the beautiful flower
• Camden – In honor of the city it was born in, Baltimore, and the winning baseball season
• Waylay – Meaning surprise, like the baby was for Ivy
• Izzy – Submitted by a teacher on behalf of a Frederick County Public Schools class that selected the name
• Luna – Meaning moon in Spanish

Please take this opportunity to vote here http://aqua.org/explore/sloth-naming-contest for your favorite name of the five listed above. Voting will run through November 15 and the final name will be announced on Friday, November 16th.

Photo credit: Jessica Nelson, National Aquarium

The baby, and mother Ivy, have been doing well since keepers first discovered the young Sloth in late August. Here are some details about baby and Ivy to inspire your votes:

• Linne's Two-toed Sloths are native to South America and can be found in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil (north of the Amazon River)
• Sloths spend their entire lives in the trees and are nocturnal by nature
• This baby is Ivy's first and the third born at the National Aquarium

Meet the Little Linne's Two-toed Baby Sloth Born at National Aquarium

The National Aquarium in Baltimore welcomed a new addition to the Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit – a Linne’s Two-toed Sloth was born in late August! Their baby is the first born to Ivy, one of the four Sloths in the exhibit, and is the third Sloth born at National Aquarium. It was born fully haired and already has its trademark claws! 

Linne’s Two-toed Sloths are commonly found in South America’s rain forests, where they spend their entire lives in the trees. They are nocturnal by nature, fairly active at night while spending most of the day sleeping. Adult sloths are typically the size of a small dog, approximately 24–30 inches in length and about 12–20 pounds in weight.

Photo Credits: National Aquarium

Read more about Sloths below the fold:

They Don't Call 'em Puffins for Nuthin'

Back in 2006, The National Aquarium was happy to report the first successful hatching of its first puffin chick. The parents, Victor and Vixen, presented it with another healthy chick in 2010, later named Vinny.  On June 28, 2011, they hatched their third little puffin! The chick weighed 40 grams at the time of the hatch, and weighed 90 grams at 8 days old. This follows the weight pattern of his older brother.

Just a little over a week later, on July 6, first-time puffin parents Tex and Kingster hatched their own chick, making this the Aquarium’s first year for multiple puffin hatchings. This chick weighed 39.4 grams at the time of the hatch and 168 grams at 12 days old.

Photo credits: The National Aquarium

National Aquarium Welcomes a Baby Dolphin!

The National Aquarium in Baltimore has just released pictures and video of their two day old dolphin calf. The calf appears to be healthy, swimming alongside mother Jade and 31 year old Shiloh who is an experienced dolphin mom. Watch video of the birth below and follow all the progress on this bright-eyed and slippery-tailed calf on the National Aquariums blog in the days to come. 

The National Aquarium Welcomes a New Baby Sloth

Keepers at the National Aquarium were proud to to welcome their first baby sloth in early September. The world’s slowest mammal, sloths spend their entire lives living in trees.

Did you know: Baby sloths are referred to by scientists as "baby sloths!"

Little known fact: in their native habitat, two-toed sloths listen exclusively to smooth jazz with world music influences.