DOWNTOWN — Chicagoans visiting the Shedd Aquarium can now meet the adorable two-toed sloth who’s been easing into her habitat behind the scenes for about a year.

Alface (al-FAH-see) — a Linné’s two-toed sloth who gets her name from the Portuguese word for lettuce — is now making public appearances at the Shedd. Chicagoans can find Alface at a surprise pop-up throughout the aquarium or at after-hours events, like Jazzin’ at the Shedd on Wednesdays through Sept. 2, or evening house parties.

Alface’s debut marks the first time in 20 years that the Shedd has displayed one of the slow-moving mammals. She arrived at the Chicago aquarium from the Dallas Zoo in September 2025, and has been exploring her new habitat and building relationships with her caretakers out of the limelight over the past year.

“Choosing to participate in encounters with guests marks another significant milestone in Alface’s journey,” Shedd Public Relations Coordinator Elise Mulligan stated in a press release, adding that Alface’s presence will inspire guests “to make daily choices that help protect the Amazon Rainforest ecosystem,” where two-toed sloths are native.

Alface, the Shedd’s Linné’s two-toed sloth, in the aquarium’s Amazing Rising exhibit. Credit: Rachel Mittelstaedt/Shedd Aquarium

In addition to lettuce, Alface eats greens, vegetables and fruits, like sweet potatoes, grapes and mangos, according to the release from the Shedd.

In the sloths’ indigenous Amazon River Basin, they spend most of their lives in the tree canopy, sleeping up to 15 hours a day and digesting food very slowly. Their coarse fur keeps them warm and dry in rainy weather, but also hosts algae and insects that give their fur a green tint, the Shedd stated in the relase.

Alface is now included in a group of what the Shedd refers to as public engagement animals — such as green-winged macaws, six-banded armadillos and a red-footed tortoise. Attendees can search for these interesting species encounters at pop-ups throughout the aquarium and at after-hours events. More information is available on the Shedd website.