New Sloths In St Augustine From Busch Gardens
- New Sloths In St Augustine From Busch Gardens
- New Sloths In St Augustine From Busch Gardens Festival Of Lights
- New Sloths In St Augustine From Busch Gardens Fl
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a 335-acre (136 ha) African-themed animal theme park located in the city of Tampa, Florida.The park is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment and has an annual attendance of just over 4.1 million a year, making it the second most visited among all SeaWorld Entertainment-owned parks behind SeaWorld Orlando, and eleventh overall among the 20 most visited. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay announced two baby sloths weighing only six to 19 ounces each. The newest Hoffman's two-toed sloth was born on March 24, and a Linnaeus two-toed sloth was born on April 2. Sloths live an average lifespan of about 10 years in the wild, but in managed care like Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, they may live until their twenties. Two-toed sloth, Harry, is estimated to be in his late forties, making him one of the oldest sloths in the world. These sloths came to the Alligator Farm in the summer of 2019 after a long tenure at Busch Gardens in Tampa, where they were the parents to many baby sloths. No longer in their reproductive years, the couple has retired at the Alligator Farm. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park opened in 1893. It was originally located across the street from its current location at 999 Anastasia Blvd., where it has been since the early 1920s.
Friday a new exhibit featuring two Hoffman's two-toed sloths will be opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.
Teddy and Grizzly will be the stars of the show as the pair – a male and a female – are released into their rainforest habitat.
Sloths are built for life in treetops, according to National Geographic, spending nearly all of their time aloft. They hang from branches with a powerful grip.
They mate and give birth while hanging in the trees, and young two-toed sloths are often seen clinging to their mothers.
Known as one of the world’s slowest mammals, they are so sedentary that algae can grow on their coats.
Hoffman's two-toed sloths are native to South America, according to AnimalDiversity.org.
The new St. Augustine Alligator Farm exhibit joins another one in the region. Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Ga., also has sloths, including a new arrival.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
New Sloths In St Augustine From Busch Gardens
St. Augustine’s newest residents fit perfectly into our laid back, coastal lifestyle. In fact, they sleep up to 20 hours a day and spend most of their time lounging in trees at their new home in the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park.
Meet Teddy and Grizzly, two mature sloths who moved to the Alligator Farm this summer and made their debut to visitors last week.
New Sloths In St Augustine From Busch Gardens Festival Of Lights
The male and female Hoffman’s Two-Toed Sloths were brought to St. Augustine from Busch Gardens in Tampa and spent much of the summer in quarantine to ensure their safe acclimation to their new home. Their Alligator Farm rainforest habitat, which was built just for Teddy and Grizzly, mimics their native environment in Central and South America.
New Sloths In St Augustine From Busch Gardens Fl
But don’t expect a spectacle on par with the park’s alligator feedings and wildlife shows. Sloths, named for their slow movements and low metabolism, are nocturnal and will likely be sleeping during your visit! Nevertheless, they are easily visible in their new habitat.