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Zookeepers welcomes Clawdia the 'faithful' sloth

John Devine,at Hamerton Zooand
Aimee Dexter
News imageHamerton Zoo Park Clawdia the sloth is in the middle of the image. She is a light brown colour and has a large nose. She has one arm over her mum and is looking at the camera. Hamerton Zoo Park
Clawdia was born at Hamerton Zoo Park in early December

A newborn sloth at a zoo has been named Clawdia after The Traitors host Claudia Winkleman and deemed a "faithful" by her keepers.

Hamerton Zoo Park, in Hamerton, Cambridgeshire, said it had welcomed the arrival of the female Linnaeus two-toed sloth in early December.

The zoo said it had waited to announce Clawdia's birth to ensure first she was happy and healthy.

Megan Jones, an education officer at the site, said the sloth was "a faithful, absolutely" as she was "too sweet to be anything else".

News imageJohn Devine/BBC Megan Jones is standing off centre to the right. She has shoulder length dark blonde hair and fringe and is wearing a green T-shirt and jacket. She is standing in front of a wooden wall.John Devine/BBC
Megan Jones said Vee and Mr Snuffles have had four babies at the zoo

Clawdia joined her sister Lily, mum Vee and dad Mr Snuffles, who is the oldest sloth at the zoo at 34-years-old.

Jones said: "We tend to breed our current sloths so that we can send them out and we can diversify the genetics of other zoos around the country."

She said Clawdia had even started to take "a few swings away from mum and dad".

News imageHamerton Zoo Park Clawdia the sloth is in the middle of the image. She is a light brown colour and has a large nose. She has one arm over her mum's shoulder and is looking at the camera. Hamerton Zoo Park
Clawdia joins her sister, mum and dad at the zoo

Jones said Clawdia's breed of sloth was usually found in South America, typically in rainforest areas, but could also be found in parts of central America.

She added the species was primarily arboreal, which means they live in trees for the vast majority of their lives.

"Funnily enough, they are quite good swimmers," said Jones.

"Their fastest area is in fact in the water, although you are going to rarely find them in there," she added.

The zoo said it had no affiliation with the BBC TV show The Traitors and added the name was chosen due to the keepers being fans of the programme.

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