Zoo Miami celebrates birth of its first two-toed sloth

Listed among the seven deadly sins, and used to describe someone who is lazy, indolent and otherwise lackadaisical, sloth takes on a different meaning when one is born — for the first time — at a major South Florida attraction.

Zoo Miami, in southwest Miami-Dade, is celebrating its first-ever birth of a twotoed sloth.

The arboreal animals typically found in the tropical forests of Central and South America soared in cultural popularity after the 2016 release of the movie “Zootopia,” featuring Flash, the “fastest” three-toed sloth in the Department of Mammal Vehicles.

The sloth born at Zoo Miami about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday doesn’t yet have a name, according to spokesman Ron Magill, and its gender isn’t yet known “as the sex of sloths is very difficult to determine, especially in infants.”

Magill Wednesday released video showing firsttime mother Marge cradling and cleaning her newborn “and also removing and consuming the birth sac.”

The baby sloth’s father is Montey. Both he and Marge are just under 3-years-old and arrived at Zoo Miami in 2016 from a private breeder, according to Magill.

Their baby was born after a pregnancy that lasted 10 months.

The newborn and its mother are not yet on public exhibit.

“They are presently housed in a special “maternity ward” where they can bond and zoo staff can monitor them closely without any external stress, Magill said.

Turns out that sloths are aptly named: on the ground, they typically move about 6 feet per minute. Magill notes they are slightly faster when moving in trees — and are considered “excellent” swimmers.

Zoo Miami has been experiencing something of a birthing boom. Just last week the attraction noted that in a span of seven days this month six baby animals were born to different mothers at the park.