Seattle: Woodland Park Zoo ushers in the New Year with a significant birth of two endangered sloth bears. The unnamed cubs, born Saturday night in an off-view maternity den, represent the second litter between 5-year-old mother Khali (call-LEE) and 7-year-old Randy. The gender of the twins is unknown at this time.

Newborn cubs are extremely tiny and blind at birth. They open their eyes at about 3 weeks old and can walk at 4 weeks. Unlike other bear species, sloth bear mothers carry cubs on their back when cubs reach about 2 months old.

Zoo staff and volunteers are observing the new family round the clock via a closed-circuit monitor and recording behavioral activity including nursing bouts and maternal care. According to Nancy Hawkes, the zoo’s general curator, the first nursing session occurred less than 10 minutes following the birth of the second cub. “The mother is showing very good maternal care so far,” noted Hawkes, “and the nursing bouts appear to be normal with regular vocalizations being sounded by the cubs.”

A male cub born last December to the same parents succumbed to pneumonia at 42 days old. It had marked the first birth of the species at the zoo in 20 years. “Sloth bear births are very rare. We’re dealing with a meager pool of proven breeders,” explained Bret Sellers, the zoo’s collection manager of mammals. “Fewer than 50 sloth bears exist in North American zoos.” As a leader in captive reproduction, Woodland Park Zoo was chosen to breed its pair under the sloth bear Species Survival Plan (SSP), a cooperative breeding program to ensure genetic diversity and demographic stability in North American zoos.

Very little is known about sloth bears in zoos and in the wild. The endangered species, native to Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, faces threats of habitat loss and the demand for bear parts in traditional Asian medicines. In the wild, fewer than 10,000 remain.

For more information about sloth bears, go to our Sloth Bear Fact Sheet at www.zoo.org/educate/fact_sheets/sloth_bear/sloth_bear.htm

For updates and more information about sloth bears, log onto the zoo’s Web site at www.zoo.org. Zoo admission fees range from free for toddlers to $10.00 for adults. For more information, call the zoo at 206.684.4800.