Some Say It's a Sin

Monday, October 21, 2024

Some Say It’s a Sin

Today's special animal friend is the Brown-throated sloth, Bradypus variegatus.  This really cute, arboreal mammal is found in forests in Central America (Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama) and South America (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru).  Here is a short video of one in Panama.  If you watch closely, you will see her baby's head or limb as it rests on her chest.

Brown-throated sloths are the most numerous species of three-toed sloths.  These sloths have three toes on their front feet and three toes on their back feet, while two-toed sloths have two in front and three in back.  Males and females are very similar, but their size varies depending on habitat.  Adult length ranges from 17 to 31 inches, weight from 5 lbs. (small cat) to 14 lbs. (quite large cat).  Their claws are strong and curved, about 2 inches long on the rear feet and 3 inches on the front.  They have a short tail, small head, and small ears.  A male has a black stripe and some orange fur on its back.

The long hairs of the sloth do not have a medulla, the core found in most animal hair.  The outside cuticle is full of microscopic cracks which allow for the growth of several species of algae.  The sloth's coat also harbors a variety of fungi, some of which have anti-biotic, anti-cancer, or anti-parasitic properties.

Brown-throated sloths are solitary except during mating.  Females emit a loud cry to attract males, who sometimes fight for access to a receptive female.  Gestation is about seven months, and the female gives birth to a single infant whose fur and claws are already developed.  The young sloth is weaned in about four weeks, but it continues to cling to its mother for up to four months.  It learns to eat leaves by eating bits of food from around its mother's mouth.  Although the sloths are generalist herbivores, most individuals prefer certain tree species and may get 20% of their food from a single tree.

These animals sleep 15 to 18 hours per day and are active in brief intervals during the day or night.   They can walk on the ground and swim, but almost all their time is spent in trees.  A sloth will descend about once every eight days to pass waste on the ground.  The sloth moth, Cryptoses choloepi, lives in the sloth's fur and lays its eggs in their dung.  Because of their very slow metabolism, designed for a nutrient-poor diet, the sloths can take up to a month to digest a meal. 

Brown-throated sloths are a species of least concern to IUCN.  Natural predators include harpy eagles and jaguars.  Habitat loss and auto impacts also affect the population in some areas.   Their lifespan in the wild is between 30 and 40 years.   It is difficult to keep them in captivity outside their native range because of their preference for tropical leaves.  The Dallas World Aquarium Zoo is successfully feeding one on cecropia foliage.

Dallas World Aquarium Zoo.