Chat with us The Hattiesburg Zoo will celebrate Mother's Day with sloth mother Mo, who recently gave birth to Mochi, a female sloth.
Mochi, a Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth, will join her sister Maple and parents Chewy and Mo in the sloth exhibit for the first time on Mother's Day weekend.
Mochi — the name for a sticky Japanese rice cake — was born Feb. 28 and weighed in at just over a pound. Two months later, Mochi's weight is up to 26.8 ounces, and she's healthy enough to join her family full time.
Mochi's sister Maple was born at the zoo in June 2018.
Mo had given birth to another girl in February 2017, but the baby died after 20 days.
Gestation period for sloths is up to 11 months and there is a narrow window when sloths are able to mate, so zoo officials estimate Mo became pregnant with Maple soon after the loss of her first baby.
Mochi's debut will precede the ribbon-cutting of Hattiesburg Zoo's Africa exhibit and the introduction of two giraffes and a hyena. The ribbon-cutting will be at 11:45 a.m. May 15. Tickets for the event are available on the zoo's website, hattiesburgzoo.com.
