Category Archives: Science

What is the ideal habitat for a sloth?

In a study published last month in PLOS One by Mendes and colleagues, researchers examined the distribution of maned sloths in South America, and found that their habitat was restricted to the coastline of Brazil. journal.pone.0110929.g002This area is “between 0 and 2,349.86 m of altitude, with an annual temperature between 8.5 and 19.4°C, and an annual precipitation between 753.01 and 2,592.0 mm”. However, the amount of suitable habitat for the maned sloth may (worryingly) be lost in the coming years due to different factors such as deforestation.

Not only [should] conservation actions should be taken in the protected areas, but also they are dearly needed to restore and reconnect the surrounding habitats and other important ones where maned sloth is known.

If you would like to help in rainforest conservation and hence the maintenance of the maned sloth’s population, you can make a donation to the Amazon Conservation Association or the World Land Trust’s Atlantic Rainforest Project. bradypus_torquatus

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Sir Algernon the Sloth

Make way for your sloth knight in (slimy?) armor, Sir Algernon!

Coming from Cuddly Critters on Amazon or eBay, Sir Algernon is an old and wise sloth who is prone to taking naps in the middle of a sentence. This loveable Grandfather sloth is happy to sit and watch game shows, soapies, and old-timey movies with you and is very fond of a cuddle.

Where does the name Algernon come from? Sloths are known for growing an entire ecosystem in their fur as they move so slowly. In particular, algae grows and is used by the sloth for camouflage and to feed their young.

The “Sir” part of Algernon’s name, as well as him looking quite regal, comes from here. algernon

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Sloth gets a C-Section to save baby

The Kids Saving the Rainforest Sanctuary in Costa Rica found an injured pregnant sloth after she fell out of a tree:

The sloth was badly injured… The baby had breached, or flipped over in the mother’s uterus. The only way to save it was to remove it via a C-section. The 30-minute procedure saved both the mother and child’s lives, although the baby sloth is currently struggling with some lung problems. This is the first known sloth C-section.csectionsloth2Csectionsloth

Read the entire article here.

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From the Montreal Biodome: baby sloth ultrasound

From CBC News Montreal:

“A six-year-old sloth, who became a favourite at Montreal’s Biodome during her rehabilitation from a broken leg suffered as a youngster, is now an expectant mother. The sloth underwent an ultrasound this week, a video of which was released on YouTube. …Few two-toed sloths births have been documented, according to the Biodome, but the gestation period is around 11 months.”sloth-ultrasound-biodome

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Why do Sloths Hang Upside-Down?

The Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica not only provides a safe haven and home for dozens of sloths, but also carries out biological research on these little-known creatures. Here they provide an explanation as to why and how sloths can live their entire lives upside down.
“Three-fingered sloths have a unique system of multiple internal adhesions that anchor their abdominal organs against the lower ribs. These adhesions support the weight of a sloth’s stomach, kidneys and digestive tract when inverted, facilitating ease in breathing by preventing the lungs from being compressed.

Our Sloth Backpack Project reveals that sloths spend about 90% of their day inverted; the internal adhesions make that possible by reducing sloths’ energy expenditure. Because of their extremely slow metabolic rate and exceptionally low body temperature, it can take up to 30 days to digest a single leaf. Having a constantly full stomach means they can’t ingest much on a daily basis, so their caloric intake is very low. Sloths have virtually no flexibility in their energy budget: they generate just enough energy from their diet to move when and where required; beyond that, not much more is stored.

Why do sloths hang upside down for so long? Because they need to eat tender new leaves that grow on the outer tips of branches. These leaves often have a lower toxin content and are easier to digest. In order to reach these choice leaves, a sloth has to hang by its toes.

In addition to the adhesions, sloths have other anatomical features that allow them to remain comfortable when inverted. These include circulatory adaptations that prevent the blood rushing to the head and a highly specialized esophagus that allows them to swallow while upside down.”
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Slothy Evolution

More slothy info for you all! Apparently, sloth evolution wasn’t so… well, SLOTHY… after all. More than 50 different sloth species used to exist! Can you imagine!!?? Now there’s only 6 left.

In times past, there was actually a trend towards sloths evolving to be LARGER over a very short period of time, but due to various unknown events in history,  the only sloths that survived to modern day are those that were small and that lived in the trees. Here’s the link to the Journal Article in BMC Evolutionary Biology, or the lay summary of sloth evolution by IFLS, or a short snippet and pics on Buzzfeed.
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Pygmy Sloths of Panama

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Watch this documentary by biologist Nick Baker on finding a wild three-toed pygmy sloth in the mangroves of Panama. Whilst two-toed and three-toed sloths are fairly abundant in the wild, pygmy sloths (about 40% the size of a normal three-toed sloth) are critically endangered. Only around 100 remain in the wild.

Skip to 39 minutes in for the finding of the pygmy sloth.

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