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Meet Dustin a 34-year-old two-toed sloth at the Peoria Zoo. He has that face that no female can turn
down. Born in the wild around 1977 he came to the zoo from Chicago in 1981 where he met Tootsie
his bride of the last 31 years. They have produced several offspring in the trees adjacent to the gift
shop at the zoo. Their love is hard to see as they spend 99% of the time hanging upside down in the
trees and only move around at night to feed. They eat mostly leaves but will snack on fruits and
flowers. If Dustin got Tootsie a dozen roses she would probably eat them. The normal body
temperature of a sloth is 93.4F well below a human. They do everything slow including only
defecating once every five days. Female sloths usually live in small groups while males are solitary
nocturnal creatures. They are so slow moving that their hair has grooves that accommodate the growth
of algae. The algae helps to camouflage them and provide nutrients. These animals are not on the
endangered list but only live to be 20 years old in the wild. Our couple have enjoyed a long
comfortable life at the zoo. Happy Valentine's Day to a wonderful old couple.
Peter Nichols, DVM, has been a resident of Washington for 40 of the last 47 years. He has been involved in community organizations like Rotary and active in the Tazewell County Veterinary Association, Mississippi Valley Veterinary Association and a member of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians. He has been in private veterinary practice for 22 years in Washington and Germantown Hills while also over seeing animal health at the Peoria Zoo for the last 13 years.
