Baby Sloth Meets Anderson Cooper

A Dunedin pet store's baby two-toed sloth is attracting celebrity attention.

The little guy (or gal) was only and has already managed to capture the heart of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.

Pet Safari store owner Larry Lipke was flown with the sloth to New York on Sept. 14, where he was interviewed for a 10-minute segment on Cooper's new daytime talk show "Anderson."

Cooper has a known affinity for the slow moving, treetop-dwelling creature, Lipke reported to his Pet Safari Facebook followers. A Pet Safari employee said he adored Dunedin's sloth.

It is considered rare for sloths to reproduce in captivity, but the imported adult sloths at Pet Safari have reared two. The first infant sloth was born in 2007. It was eventually adopted to a human family after about a year. The latest Pet Safari sloth has grown to about a foot long and is yet unnamed. Its sex is not yet determined. Lipke said a sloth's sex is difficult to determine.

“We weren’t buying them to breed,” Lipke said in March of his three adult sloths – male Scarface and females Baby and Blondie. “All it means is we’re taking care of them properly.”

The baby sloth makes its talk show debut in a segment scheduled to air Friday, Oct. 7 at 9 a.m. on ABC (Channel 11).

"Anderson" premiered on Sept. 12.

Pet Safari visitors may observe the mother (named Baby) and baby in the sloth room during store hours. The pet store also offers educational programs for groups.

Watch Pet Safari's sloths on the SlothCam.

Have you been to Pet Safari? on Dunedin Patch.