This Baby Sloth Totally Thinks This Teddy Bear Is His Mother

The baby sloth, whose name is Edward Yawning, ran into difficulties when his mother stopped producing milk, so Kelly-Anne Kelleher, one of the keepers at ZSL Zoo in London decided to replace her with a stuffed toy from the gift shop.

The seven-week-old two-toed sloth has been named Edward after Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands, made famous by Johnny Depp, because of his large claws.

Zookeeper Kelly-Anne Kelleher cradles Edward The bear has been adapted using carabiners, climbing equipment which enables it to be hung from a branch whilst he climbs on and has the opportunity to strengthen his limbs.

Although the baby may look cute and cuddly, it also boasts impressive claws, inspiring zookeepers to name it Edward Scissorhands.

“It took him a few days to get used to the bottle, but now he’s hungrily suckling as soon as we give it to him”, she says.

Edward is living up to his sloth reputation, with his keeper often having to wait for him to stir from a deep slumber before being able to feed him.

Still, at least Kelly-Anne doesn’t have to deal with dirty nappies with this baby: sloths only leave their tree-top habitats once a week to poop!

They know when he’s hungry because he makes a noise “somewhere between a squeak and a sneeze”.

Usually found in the forests of South America, the nocturnal, tree-dwelling sloths are known for being very slow-moving.

A valuable addition to the European breeding programme for his species, Edward’s details will be added to the worldwide studbook, which is shared with zoos around the world.