Just got back from a farewell for one of the boy’s cousins who is going to South America for 10 weeks starting next weekend. So jealous! She and her boyfriend are going to be trekking all over the Amazon and probably seeing all sorts of amazing wildlife, including sloths. They’ve promised me they will take pictures of any sloths they see.
One day, Sarah. One day.
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. 
This 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. 
Hamish and Andy’s Gap Year this year was spent in South America. Episode 4 sees them jetting off to Costa Rica to visit some sloths and learn about their sleepy ways! Watch the video from 33:53 for the sloth segment.
After meeting the sloths, the boys got a little sleepy on a special tea… and began their sleepy sloth challenge…
The sleepiness appeared to take a while to wear off! Welcome to the life of a sloth!
