Pet Safari Welcomes Newborn Sloth

owner Larry Lipke’s pet shop is abuzz with all the excitement that comes with welcoming a newborn into the world.

"It was exciting," said pet shop owner Larry Lipke, who will happily recount the birth story to anyone who asks. "It was kind of like having a kid again. ..."

Except it’s a two-toed sloth, a slow moving, herbivore native to South America’s northern rainforests that dwells mostly in treetops.

Baby, the new mother two-toed sloth that he's had since 2007, gave birth Sunday, March 5, to a healthy newborn at 8:05 p.m. The newborn sex is not immediately determinable and it has not yet been named.

Lipke said that he noticed Baby was getting bigger about three weeks ago. His veterinarian performed an ultrasound and confirmed Lipke’s suspicion.

“I saw the heartbeat on the monitor,” Lipke said with the proud glint of a grandfather.

He helped deliver the baby in the sloth room at the 26-year Main Street pet shop. "Oh, it was awesome,” Lipke said. "It fell right in my hand.”

Lipke’s other female sloth, Blondie, gave birth two years ago.

“She was a great mom,” he said, adding that Blondie’s motherly instincts kicked right back into gear with the sloth room’s recent arrival.

“When the baby was born, she was out helping to clean it,” he said.

Lipke maintains that successfully breeding sloths in captivity is rare. He said neither Busch Gardens nor Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo have been able to do it.

 “We weren’t buying them to breed,” Lipke said of his three adult sloths – females Baby and Blondie and male Scarface. “But decided that if they reproduce, all it means is we’re taking care of them properly.”

Lipke said mother is doing fine and baby is nursing and getting stronger by the day.

Watch live from Pet Safari's sloth cam. Also, visit Pet Safari's Facebook page, where he has linked to all the regional and television attention the sloth's arrival has attracted.

Visitors are welcome to observe mother and baby in the sloth room during store hours.

Pet Safari also offers animal educational programs for groups. Inquire about cost.

[Updated at 7:49 a.m., March 10, 2011]