CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo welcomed a female sloth bear cub recently, it announced Monday.
The sloth bear cub was born on Dec. 22, 2024 and is the second cub for both mom Shiva, 10, and the father, Balawat, 19.
The cub has been bonding with her mom closely since birth, and over the past few weeks, zoo keepers say the cub has grown strong and more active to the point of climbing on the mom's back — which is a unique behavior to sloth bears and is an important one to help navigate their environment.
The zoo is asking the public to help name the cub, deciding between these three names that carry special meaning to sloth bears' native habitats:
- Kamali – “Perfect Lotus”
- Sahana – “Patience”
- Suhani (“Su”) – “Pleasant”
To vote, individuals are encouraged to make a donation. The public can do so by clicking here. Donations will support the Saving Animals From Extinction Sloth Bear Conservation program. Voting closes March 25 at midnight.
"We are thrilled to welcome this new cub and proud to be part of the global effort to protect this species,” said Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s Executive Director Chris Kuhar. “The public naming opportunity gives our community the ability to make an impact to secure a future for wildlife by helping to protect sloth bears in the wild.”
The zoo said it'll make the announcement of when the cub will make her public debut at Susie's Bear Hollow in the common weeks on social media pages.
