#LoveSpecies nominee: southern two-toed sloth
Nominated by: Pro Wildlife e.V.
Why do you love it?
Everything that the two-toed sloth does is very slow, and by slow we mean really, really slow! When you see it “moving” (if it moves while you’re looking at it) it seems like somebody has pressed the slow motion button. They can even swim in slow-mo. They are so slow that algae grow on their body, which makes the animals invisible in the canopy. It is also believed that this sloth will occasionally eat some of the algae off of its body and has the ability to absorb some of the algae’s nutrients through its skin. Even more fascinating, sloths will only leave the safety of the treetops to do their “business”, which only happens once a month.
What are the threats to the two-toed sloth?
The southern two-toed sloth is threatened by habitat loss and collection for the international pet trade.
What are you doing to save it?
There are several sloth species, some of them are endangered, some not. One of the threats to all sloth species is the international pet trade. We at Pro Wildlife work on a better national law that forbids the private keeping of sloths and other exotics. They don’t belong in households and the trade is heavily reducing their numbers in the wild.