Linnaeus's two-toed sloth

The name two-toed sloth describes only the front limbs. Each ends in two long, curved claws, while the hind limbs have three. This arrangement helps the animal hold on beneath branches. Its home is the canopy of tropical South American forests, including those of the Amazon basin. Most of its life takes place high above the ground, hanging and moving between branches.

The sloth feeds mainly at night. It eats leaves, twigs and fruit complete with seeds. This plant food supplies little energy, and the animal has a slow metabolism. Unhurried movement is part of its energy-saving way of life, rather than a human character flaw. Seeds from the fruit it eats can be dispersed in its droppings. During the day, a sloth often rests in a fork in a tree.

After a pregnancy of around ten months, a female usually gives birth to one youngster. She carries it clinging to her belly or back and cares for it during its first months. A life tied to trees has a cost: logging and forest fires remove resting places and food sources alike. A branch supports the sloth as it moves, provides a place to rest and forms part of its feeding area.