Three-toed sloth

Description:

Sloths are related to armadillos and anteaters, which sport a similar set of specialized claws. Sloths are arboreal (tree dwelling) residents of the jungles of Central and South America, and are known for being slow-moving. Sloths are classified as folivores as the bulk of their diet consists mostly of buds, tender shoots, and leaves, mainly of Cecropia trees. Leaves, their main food source, provide very little energy or nutrition and do not digest easily. Sloths therefore have large, specialized, slow-acting stomachs with multiple compartments in which symbiotic bacteria break down the tough leaves. As much as two-thirds of a well-fed sloth's body-weight consists of the contents of its stomach, and the digestive process can take a month or more to complete. Sloths go to the ground to urinate and defecate about once a week, digging a hole and covering it afterwards. They go to the same spot each time and are vulnerable to predation while doing so. Sloths' claws serve as their only natural defence. A cornered sloth may swipe at its attackers in an effort to scare them away or wound them. Despite sloths' apparent defenselessness, predators do not pose special problems: sloths blend in with the trees and, moving only slowly, do not attract attention. (wikipedia)

Habitat:

The brown-throated sloth is the most widespread and common of the three-toed sloths. It is found from Honduras in the north, through Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama into Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, and eastern Peru. Seen in an urban neighborhood.

Notes:

This sloth visited a tree in the backyard of a house rented by my Chilean friends. It came down to the ground and seemed quite docile so I approached and put my palm on its chest; it didn’t move but I could feel its heartbeat speed up so I backed off. Unfortunately, after I left, my friends said it was killed by neighborhood dogs.Scanned from photos taken with film.