SLOTHS

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There are two species of sloths in Costa Rica and both are present in the Reserve.

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The two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) is characterized by having only two toes on their front limbs (both species have three toes on the rear limbs) and have a light brown fur with a more pointed face.

 

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The three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus), have three toes on both limbs and is more grayish with a black line covering the eyes.

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Both are herbivores and feed on leaves and fruits of the trees where they spend most of the time, like the sea almond (Terminalia catappa) or the cecropia tree (Cecropia sp.). 

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Despite being so common, they are very hard to spot because they are slow, don´t move often (actually they only go to the ground once a week to defecate) and they camouflage very well with the surroundings. 

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They host a lot of life in their fur, there are moths, beetles and other insects that spend their life cycle between the fur and the feces of the sloths, depending completely on them for their survival.

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