Hello, my name is … CAMDEN!

Following two weeks of voting as part of our baby sloth naming contest, today we’re happy to say we have a winning name – Camden. More than 4,000 votes were cast with over 1,000 cast for the winning name, submitted as homage to the city and to Baltimore’s winning baseball season.

Last month, as part of the naming contest, we invited the public to submit names for the sloth. After reviewing and considering all 1,726 submitted entries Iris, Camden, Waylay, Izzy and Luna were selected by a panel of National Aquarium staff from various departments.

Camden has been excitingly trying solid foods with Mom Ivy for the last month!

During the next two weeks of public voting, we saw an overwhelming support for all of the names. Luna was the runner up with 915 votes and Izzy came in third place with almost 850 votes.

Camden is the third sloth born at National Aquarium and the first born to Ivy, one of the four sloths in the Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit.

In honor of Camden’s arrival, we are asking the public to continue to support the sloths and rain forest collection through donations that can be made at aqua.org/donate.

Camden will stay close to Ivy for at least the next few months, but is starting to feel comfortable moving away from Mom’s stomach to better explore its surroundings.

Our naming contest was launched in honor of International Sloth Day, which aims to bring awareness to illegal trafficking and the mistreatment of sloths in Central and South America. The AIUNA foundation, the starters of International Sloth Day, rehabilitate sloths that have been injured by power lines, hit by cars or sold illegally and release them back into the wild.

Sloths have been an ongoing part of the animal collection here at National Aquarium. The two oldest sloths currently living in the rain forest, Syd and Ivy, were acquired in May 2007 from a private captive breeder in South Florida. The other two sloths, Howie and Xeno, were born at National Aquarium in 2008 and 2010, respectively.

Linne’s two-toed sloths are commonly found in South America’s rain forests, where they spend almost their entire lives in the trees. They are nocturnal by nature, fairly active at night while spending most of the day sleeping. Adult sloths are typically the size of a small dog, approximately 24-30 inches in length and about 12–20 pounds in weight.

The Linne’s two-toed sloth is currently not threatened however other species of sloth, such as the maned three-toed sloth and pygmy three-toed sloth are endangered. The sloths at National Aquarium, Baltimore help to inform people of the plight of all sloths from threats such as habitat loss and fragmentation of forests as well as to inspire conservation, protection and welfare of these and other animals.

Thanks to Jessica Nelson, our senior herpetologist in the Rain Forest, for these amazing new photos of Ivy and Camden!

Thanks to everyone who helped us name our baby! 

Iris? Camden? Luna? The final choices are in – help us name our baby sloth!

Following two weeks of accepting name suggestions as part of a naming contest for the Linne’s two-toed sloth born in Baltimore in late August, today we are announcing the following names for final consideration:

• Iris – In honor of the beautiful flower
• Camden – In honor of the city it was born in, Baltimore, and the winning baseball season
• Waylay – Meaning surprise, like the baby was for Ivy
• Izzy – Submitted by a teacher on behalf of a Frederick County Public Schools elementary class that selected the name
• Luna – Meaning moon in Spanish

A panel of National Aquarium staff from various departments, including those from our rain forest exhibit where the baby sloth resides, reviewed and considered all 1,726 entries that were submitted for the baby sloth, the third born at National Aquarium. Although the panel was originally tasked with selecting four names, they were overwhelmed by the amount of incredible responses and decided to include one more option!

Visit www.aqua.org/slothcontest between now and November 15 to vote on your favorite name!

This baby is the newest addition to the Upland Tropical Rain Forest and the first born to Ivy, one of the four sloths in the exhibit. After votes are tallied, the winning name will be announced on the morning of November 16.

Ivy with her baby

The naming contest launched October 18 in honor of International Sloth Day, which aims to bring awareness to illegal trafficking and the mistreatment of sloths in Central and South America. The AIUNA foundation, the starters of International Sloth Day rehabilitate sloths that have been injured by power lines, hit by cars or sold illegally and release them back into the wild.

Sloths have been an ongoing part of the animal collection at National Aquarium. The two oldest sloths currently living in the rain forest, Syd and Ivy, were acquired in May 2007 from a private captive breeder in South Florida. The other two sloths, Howie and Xeno, were born at National Aquarium in 2008 and 2010, respectively.

Linne’s two-toed sloths are commonly found in South America’s rain forests, where they spend almost their entire lives in the trees. They are nocturnal by nature, fairly active at night while spending most of the day sleeping. Adult sloths are typically the size of a small dog, approximately 24-30 inches in length and about 12–20 pounds in weight.

The Linne’s two-toed sloth is currently not threatened however other species of sloth, such as the maned three-toed sloth and pygmy three-toed sloth are endangered. The sloths at National Aquarium, Baltimore help to inform people of the plight of all sloths from threats such as habitat loss and fragmentation of forests as well as to inspire conservation, protection and welfare of these and other animals.

Click here to vote on your favorite name for our baby! 

Raising Xeno

Last spring, one of our adult female sloths, Rose, unexpectedly passed away, leaving her 8-week-old baby orphaned. We were all saddened by the loss of Rose, and very worried that baby Xeno had lost his mother.

At the Aquarium, we typically respect the natural process of life by letting mothers care for their babies as much as possible. Because young sloths remain dependent on their mothers for food and comfort during their first year of life, our animal care staff knew that Xeno was going to need extra special care in order to grow into a successful adult sloth.

For the past several months, the Rain Forest staff and Animal Care team have come together to give little Xeno the best chance of survival, which meant round-the-clock care that included a special diet, daily veterinary checkups and even some coddling, because baby sloths physically cling to their mothers.

Words alone can’t describe how much love and care was put into helping Xeno grow! The video below shares our amazing story of raising Xeno:

Xeno is now 7 months old and is continuing to develop into a strong and healthy sloth. Our staff is no longer handling Xeno. He is currently living in a new enclosure in the Aquarium’s Rain Forest that will help introduce him to the environment. We are cautiously optimistic that he will soon join our other two-toed sloths as a permanent resident in our Upland Tropical Rain Forest!

The costs of food, medicine and a knowledgeable staff to care for more than 16,000 animals add up quickly. You can help us continue to provide the best-quality care for animals like Xeno. » Donate now