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  4. Sloths

Species group · Mammals

Sloths

WAnimals has 5 species of sloth, spread across 2 families (Bradypodidae, Megalonychidae).

5 species
2 families
20 countries
82 parks
Weight
2.3 kg – 11 kg
Length
42 cm – 89 cm
Lifespan
15 – 30 years

Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 5.

All 5 species of sloths on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Least Concern

Brown-throated Sloth

Bradypus variegatus

9 countries56 parks
Least Concern

Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth

Choloepus hoffmanni

14 countries47 parks
Least Concern

Southern Two-toed Sloth

Choloepus didactylus

11 countries14 parks
Least Concern

Pale-Throated Three-Toed Sloth

Bradypus tridactylus

7 countries11 parks
Critically Endangered

Pygmy Three-toed Sloth

Bradypus pygmaeus

1 country

Conservation status

4 Least Concern1 Critically Endangered

1 species in this group is in a threatened category according to the IUCN.

Where they live

Recorded in 20 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

  • Brazil4
  • Colombia4
  • Venezuela4
  • Bolivia3
  • Ecuador3
  • Peru3
  • Costa Rica2
  • French Guiana2
  • Guyana2
  • Honduras2
  • Nicaragua2
  • Panama2
  • Suriname2
  • Argentina1
  • Belize1
  • El Salvador1
  • France1
  • Guatemala1
  • Mexico1
  • Paraguay1

Where to see them

  • Amacayacu4 species
  • Amazônia3 species
  • Anavilhanas3 species
  • Canaima3 species
  • Jaú3 species
  • Manu3 species
  • Yasuní3 species
  • Área de Conservación Guanacaste2 species
  • Arenal Volcano2 species
  • Bosawas2 species
  • Braulio Carrillo2 species
  • Brownsberg2 species

Did you know…?

  • Its coat holds an ecosystem of its own — green algae and symbiotic moths — that gives it extra camouflage.

    From Brown-throated Sloth

  • It feeds mainly on the leaves of trees of the genus Cecropia.

    From Brown-throated Sloth

  • It lives in the canopy of tropical rainforest in Central and South America.

    From Brown-throated Sloth

  • It has one of the slowest metabolisms known in any mammal, and can take almost a month to digest a single leaf.

    From Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth

  • Despite the name, two-toed sloths have three toes on their hind feet: the two refers only to the hands, where the three-toed sloths have one more.

    From Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth

  • Its coat holds an entire ecosystem, with green algae that camouflage it and moths that live only there and whose life cycle depends on the sloth's weekly visits to the ground.

    From Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth

  • It has the lowest and most variable body temperature of any mammal, between 24 and 33°C.

    From Southern Two-toed Sloth

  • Its coat hosts symbiotic algae that give it a greenish cast, hiding it in the canopy.

    From

Ecosystems

  • Rainforest5
  • Islands1
  • Mountain1
  • Ocean1

See every species group · Explore the species one by one

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Southern Two-toed Sloth