Rico and Cleo make their debut for grand opening of Sloth Valley at Ripley’s Aquarium

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - The adorable new faces at Ripley’s Aquarium are done slow-poking around and ready to meet you.

Friday, Ripley’s held a ribbon cutting for the grand opening of its newest exhibit Sloth Valley.

Sloth Valley is the new home of the two-toed sloths Rico and Cleo.

Rico, only 3 years old, is known to be calm, cool and collected and his favorite treat is butternut squash.

Cleo, short for Cleopatra, is 7 years old, often called the queen of the canopy and a lot blonder than Rico.

Alex McMinn, Ripley’s marketing coordinator, said everyone is eager to meet the adorable pair.

“Our guests have been super excited. They’re sloths. We’ve had scales with the sharks, sting rays and fish. We’ve had feathers now with our penguins in 2020, and now we finally have fur with our sloths,” said McMinn.

McMinn said Ripley’s Aquarium here in the grand strand is the only place you can experience Sloth Valley and is paving the way for other facilities across the country.

“It’s not every day you get to see sloths right here in Myrtle Beach. So you definitely want to check them out and come hang out with Rico and Cleo as we like to say. They are definitely super cute and the exhibit here is super immersive. When you walk in you’ll really feel like you stepped into the heart of the jungle,” said McMinn.

McMinn said coming soon is a step inside sloth encounter where you can hang out with Rico and Cleo.

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