Mammals · Pilosa · Megalonychidae

Hoffmann's Two-toed Sloth

Choloepus hoffmanni

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

Hoffmann's two-toed sloth is a species of placental mammal of the order Pilosa native to Central and South America. It is a solitary, nocturnal and arboreal animal, living in secondary and mature rainforest and in deciduous woodland. With their shaggy coat, large claws and deliberate movements, the two-toed sloths cannot be confused with any other animal. These animals, of 5 to 7 kg and about 60 cm long, are exactly the right size to move through the treetops of their forest habitat. It was declared a national symbol of Costa Rica, representing the wildlife of that country.

Weight

4 kg – 8 kg

Size

54 cm – 72 cm

Lifespan

30 years

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestMountainHerbivore Nocturnal Solitary Rainforest Mountain Mammal

14countries 47parks1same family

Fun facts

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

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Canopy of lowland rainforest and montane forest of Central and South America
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 11.5 months
Litter / clutch size: 1
Lifespan in captivity: Documented records of more than 40 years in captivity

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choloepus_hoffmanni