The Two-Toed Sloth

Sporting a longer snout than the three-toed sloth, as well as a larger stature and one less intimidatingly large curved claw on its front foot, the two-toed sloth spends most of its life in the trees and is most active at night.  Active is a relative term here, as the sloth moves in relation to the energy it gets from its low carb diet of leaves, typically at a pace of around half a foot per second at a good clip.  Its slow, deliberate, often acrobatic movements, paired with a shaggy coat that actually encourages the growth of algae, help this beautiful animal avoid detection from predators and enjoy its daytime naps peacefully in the canopy.

Photo credits: Diego Achan

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 16th, 2014 at 8:56 am. It is filed under Costa Rica, Nature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.