Chata, a 29-year-old female Hoffman’s two-toed sloth, hangs upside down at the Jacksonville Zoo. | Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens
Published on March 5, 2025 at 4:18 pm
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Baby Ruth and Chata have a new home at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, and the public is invited to see it.
The first 100 guests Saturday will enjoy an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the new Sloth Crossing habitat for 7-year-old Baby Ruth (a female Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth), and Chata (a 29-year-old female Hoffman’s two-toed sloth).
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Built in the Range of the Jaguar exhibit, the new sloth habitat features a climate-controlled indoor space for cooler temperatures. There also is a lush, open-air area with plenty of vines, greenery and climbing structures that mimics their rainforest home as well as offering sunshine and fresh air.
Sloths are native to South America. They are slow-moving, tree-dwelling creatures known for hanging upside down on branches, where they eat, sleep and even give birth.
Sloths can live up to 40 years, making Chata long-lived. Baby Ruth is still young and came to the zoo about a year ago.
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Neither has been publicly shown until Saturday.
The new habitat took six months to building and cost $300,000, zoo officials said.
