German sloth named Paula breaks record for being oldest of its kind

A 50-year-old sloth in Germany has been crowned the oldest of its kind in the world.

Halle Zoo is celebrating after the mammal - which is about 90 in human years - was accepted into the Guinness Book of Records.

"We have applied for Paula and it has been confirmed," Jutta Heuer, a keeper at the zoo told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

"There is no specimen known in zoos or the wild which has more years under its belt."

The news was announced ahead of International Sloth Day on October 20.

Paula, who enjoys munching on maize and vegetables, was actually thought to be a Paul for more than 20 years.

Keepers only discovered she was female in 1995 after an ultrasound scan revealed her true gender, the Deutsche Welle news said.

Two-toed sloths have a typical lifespan of 20 years in the wild or 30 to 40 years in captivity, so at half a century old Paula is bucking the trend.

According to Ms Heur there are only 65 sloths in German zoos and 266 in the whole of Europe at the end of 2018.