At just a few weeks old, baby sloth Edward Scissorhands was already being raised by zookeepers when his mother could no longer produce milk for her baby to survive. His zookeepers stepped up and bottle fed him every 3 hours throughout the day and night with goat's milk and a pinch of vitamins, Kelly-Anne Kelleher,a sloth keeper at London Zoo, said in the video.
But something was missing.
Nutrition isn't enough for the baby two-toed sloth. That is when Kelleher came up with the brilliant idea to bring a stuffed teddy sloth from the zoo's gift shop to help mimic his mother. The result is pure genius... and pure cute.
Baby sloths build their muscle mass by climbing on their mothers, gaining strength and dexterity along the way. This is vital for their survival, as treetop dwelling sloths spend most of their lives hanging upside down from trees, according to National Geographic.
Kelleher hung the surrogate mother six inches from the ground using carabiners to replicate a sloth mother's natural position. Baby Edward is gaining strength daily as he happily clambers all over the surrogate, according to Newsweek. He is able to climb all the way around the stuffed toy and often climbs on the toy's tummy to hang out.
As he continues to thrive and grow, plans are to reunite him with his mother, Marliyn, when the time is right. He should be ready thanks to his extended family and new stuffed sloth "mommy."
Thorough records are kept on Edward's sleeping, eating and toilet habits, according to The Telegraph. This helps Edward's keepers keep track of his weight gains and losses, ensuring he is on track.
