‘It was very difficult...,’ World’s oldest sloth, father of 22 pups, has died

The world’s oldest sloth has died. Named Jan, the 54-year-old sloth lived at the zoo in the western German city of Krefeld. The zoo in a statement said Jan passed away last week. Born in 1969, it first lived in Hamburg's Hagenbeck Zoo and later spent the last 38 years of its life at Krefeld Zoo.

"It was very difficult for his keepers to say goodbye to him, as some of them had known and cared for him for over 25 years,” the zoo said in a statement.

Janmade headlines in 2021 when he was declared the "Oldest sloth in human care” by the Guinness World Records.

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Notably, the previous title of the world’s oldest sloth was also held by a German sloth, from a zoo in the eastern city of Halle. The sloth was called Paula.

As the Krefeld zoo bid adieu to Jan, they highlighted why it was called ‘record sloth’, “not only because of his age, but also because of his high number of offspring," the zoo stated.

According to DW, Jan fathered a whopping 22 sloth pups at Krefeld, with its partners Lolita and Trine. Its age didn’t stop him from fathering the last kid, a baby girl, in March of this year.

According to Guinness World Records, it was believed to be in great shape back in March, as claimed by its keepers. The zoo had nominated April 30 as its birthday and used to celebrate every year.

Two-toed sloths generally live up to 20 years. It means that Jan died after having witnessed more than double the life expectancy.

However, as per experts, they generally live longer, up to 30-40 years, in captivity. They feed on leaves, fruit, and tree sap, but eat very little because it takes them ages to digest food. Apparently, their stomachs are also like them only—slow.

(With inputs from agencies)