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| Hoffman's Sloths, Choeletus
hoffmani,can be found in the trees of the tropical rainforests
of Central and South America including Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, and Venezuela.
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Hoffman's Sloths grow to be
21 to 29 inches in length with a weight of 9 to 19 pounds. They
have rounded heads and flattened faces with tiny ears hidden by
their long, shaggy grayish brown hair. Their face is paler in col,or
than their body. The color of the hair is darkest on their shoulders
and top of the head. The coat often has a greenish cast, produced
by algae growth on the ends of the hair during the wet seasons.
The front feet have 2 hooked claws, 3 to 4 inches in length, and
their hind feet have 3 claws. |
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Sloths are nocturnal and usually awaken
from their daytime sleep about an hour before dark to begin
feeding on leaves, tender twigs and fruits. Their teeth grow
continuously, and are worn down by the constant grinding of
their food. They don't drink but get their water from eating
juicy leaves and licking dewdrops. Sloths also can gain nourishment
from licking the algae that grows on their fur. |
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The Hoffman’s
two-toed Sloth breeds every 14 to 16 months. The gestation period
lasts 11.5 months Females give birth to one offspring. The young
cling to their mother's underbelly for the first few weeks of life
and are able to hang upside down at 20 to 25 days of age. They begin
to feed on their own at the age of 5 months. They continue to associate
with their mother for at least 2 years. |
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| Mistakenly thought to
be related to the monkey, the Sloth in fact is related to
the anteater and armadillo. The Sloth is considered to be
the slowest animal on earth. They average a speed of 0.15
mph. with most Sloths only traveling 125 feet or less in an
entire day, never leaving the general area of its birth! |
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Sloth’s are surprisingly
good swimmers. They swim upright using a form of the breaststroke
to propel themselves through the water. The Sloth's top speed is
its climbing speed, which is surprisingly very fast in emergency
situations. |
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The Jaguar and
other larger carnivores are natural predators of the Sloth. Humans
also still hunt the Sloth for its meat and pelts, although this
practice is diminishing. The Maned Sloth (Bradypus torquatus)
is considered endangered. |
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Due to its extremely
slow traveling speed, the Sloth is very poor at any defensive movement
and so relies on guile to disguise itself from predators. Sloths
are very good at hiding beneath branches and may also curl up into
a tight ball in a small niche of their tree to resemble a termite
nest or a knot in the wood (the latter is also their sleeping position).
If forced to defend itself while in the lower canopy or on the ground,
Sloths may use their sharp claws, or, especially in the case of
the Two-Toed Sloth like the Hoffman's Sloth, biting its enemy. |
