Pygmy Three-toed sloths live on the forests of the island Escudo de Veraguas, it is believed they also live on other parts of the island as well.
They are about 50cm long and they weigh about 3kg. They are very good swimmers and their diet consists mainly of the leaves form the trees they live in. Their population is believed to be less than 500 individuals.
Sloths like to take very long naps perched up in the tree branches and they have a slow metabolism.
The pygmy three-toed sloth is small because of something called insular dwarfism, which basically means that it adapted to it's habitat in the island by becoming smaller. Now being small has many advantages because it means they need less food, and it's easier for them to find a place to live in.
These sloths have grey-brown hair in their bodies and dark fur around their eyes, the males have orange vertical lines on their backs.
The fur of the sloths grows backwards, so that the water drips off more easily when they're hanging up a branch. Also, it's covered in algae, which they use as a method of camouflage.
The sloth's main threat is habitat loss. People cut down the mangrove trees for timber and firewood, and by doing so they destroy these sloths' habitat. They also have issues with poaching.
More Info:
ICUN Redlist, Pygmy three-toed Sloth.
Pygmy three-toed Sloth BBC.
Encyclopedia Of Life
It's interesting. Aricle
They are about 50cm long and they weigh about 3kg. They are very good swimmers and their diet consists mainly of the leaves form the trees they live in. Their population is believed to be less than 500 individuals.
Sloths like to take very long naps perched up in the tree branches and they have a slow metabolism.
The pygmy three-toed sloth is small because of something called insular dwarfism, which basically means that it adapted to it's habitat in the island by becoming smaller. Now being small has many advantages because it means they need less food, and it's easier for them to find a place to live in.
These sloths have grey-brown hair in their bodies and dark fur around their eyes, the males have orange vertical lines on their backs.
The fur of the sloths grows backwards, so that the water drips off more easily when they're hanging up a branch. Also, it's covered in algae, which they use as a method of camouflage.
The sloth's main threat is habitat loss. People cut down the mangrove trees for timber and firewood, and by doing so they destroy these sloths' habitat. They also have issues with poaching.
More Info:
ICUN Redlist, Pygmy three-toed Sloth.
Pygmy three-toed Sloth BBC.
Encyclopedia Of Life
It's interesting. Aricle
All pictures of the sloth are used with the permission of Diorene J. Smith (For more images go to ARKive.org)