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Sheffield welcome new sloth to Tropical Butterfly House

The Tropical Butterfly House in Sheffield is celebrating its 25th year with a special new arrival –  a Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth.

A first for the wildlife park, the 29 year old male was born in Amsterdam but has been living in Hamerton Zoo, Cambridgeshire for the last 18 years where he was simply referred to as ‘Mr Sloth’.

Native to South America, sloths conserve energy by moving very slowly and deliberately through the trees and can snooze for up to 15 hours a day. The new sloth can now look forward to spending his time at the Tropical Butterfly House in the company of lorikeets, turtles and butterflies.

Since making the two hour journey to Sheffield on the 21st January, Mr Sloth has been settling in well to his enclosue, under the care of Animal Team Leader, Abigail Carter:

“Like the cliché says, our sloth slept all the way to his new home! Having him here at the wildlife park is such a fantastic move forward for us and I have no doubt he will be very popular. It not only gives us the chance to educate the public on these incredible animals the opportunity to highlight the effects of deforestation to sloths and other animals around the world.  I always find people feel more connected and more likely to listen about conservation issues when they can experience the animals in person.”

Andrew Reeve, wildlife park manager, had anticipated this new arrival for some time, as he explains:

“I put our name on the waiting list seven years ago when I took over as park manager. It has been a long, slow process and prior to his arrival we’ve trained our staff on how to care for him and prepare his new habitat. He will however continue to surprise us as we learn more about his behaviour and daily routines. We’re delighted that due to the dedication and perseverance of the animal team, our newest arrival will bring joy to all our visitors.”

For more information on visiting Mr Sloth and other exotic creatures such as lemurs, meerkats, owls, otters, snakes, plus butterflies, birds, bats, crocodiles and creepy-crawlies in the indoor rainforest, go to www.butterflyhouse.co.uk

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