Found only on the Isla Escudo de Veraguas, the pygmy three-toed sloth is a tree-living mammal that can spend to up 15 to 20 hours in the canopy each day.
It moves at an extremely slow speed of .24 kilometers per hour making it one of the slowest animals in the world. The pygmy three-toed sloth lives in the mangroves and is surprisingly good at swimming.
Since their slow movements make them vulnerable to predators, sloths usually only descend to the ground when they need to urinate and defecate. They can go seven days without needing to.
Through the phenomena of island dwarfism, the pygmy three-toed sloth has become the world’s smallest sloth. The process happens when large animals evolve to having a reduced body size when the population’s range is limited to a small environment, like an island.
An adult only weighs between 5.5-7.7 pounds and measures 19 to 21 inches in length compared with an average sized sloth that usually weigh between 9 to 17 pounds.
Sloths have a greenish hue. This is due to algae that grow on its fur. This provides protective camouflage for the sloth.
This symbiotic relationship is very important because camouflage is one of the pygmy three-toed sloth’s only defense systems from predators.
If you want to be a part of the solution to save the three-toed sloths, please check out these 2 petitions:
Check out the following organizations that are working to save the pigmy three-toed sloths:
Bradypus pygmaeus
Approx. 48
Critically Endangered
Only found on Isla Escudo de Veraguas of Bocas del Toro which is located off the coast of Panama.
Habitat degradation
Disease
SAFE Worldwide, Inc is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and within the limits of the law, 100% of your donation is tax-deductible in the United States of America. We are incorporated in the state of California.
USA EIN #81-3680190
SAFE WORLDWIDE © 2024 All rights reserved
