SAN ANTONIO – Inside the John & Greli Less Butterfly Rainforest at the San Antonio Zoo, you won’t just find hundreds of butterflies from Central and South America, but other Central American natives: Sol and Luna.
The two fingered puppy sloths arrived at the zoo back in December.
The sloths are just under a year old and now they are ready to move into their new space.
The San Antonio community has donated, voted and chosen their names: Sol and Luna -- which mean sun and moon.
“It was because of the generous donations of our San Antonio Zoo community that we are able to name them,” Liz Johanek, manager of animal ambassadors at the San Antonio Zoo said.
Johanek is an animal ambassador and works closely with Sol and Luna.
She said Luna is a bit of a ham. Luna loves to climb, and knows when she is on camera. Her favorite foods are grapes and green beans.
“She definitely likes to eat the green beans the most, and she probably is more outgoing,” Johanek said.
Sol knows what he likes and sleeping in his room is his most favorite thing.
Did you know sloths sleep 15-20 hours a day? What a life!
“Sol is a little bit more reserved,” Johanek said. “So Sol kind of likes what he likes. He, I would say, takes a little bit more time to warm up to things.”
Sol and Luna are a perfect fit for the butterfly rainforest.
They eat fruits and vegetables, and will make great roommates with the butterflies.
The San Antonio Zoo is the first zoo in the country to have sloths and butterflies that are living together.
Johanek said guests can also learn more about Sol and Luna through the animal ambassador program, where guests can learn about two fingered sloths and the importance of saving their native rainforests.
“We actually have a program in Central America called Project Selva that helps with some of the rainforest that you would find these sloths in,” Johanek said. “And so we want the public to kind of feel responsible and help the animals to thrive by coming in, visiting and donating to the zoo.”
You can meet Sol and Luna at the Butterfly Rainforest exhibit or out and about with the animal ambassador team.