A very special slowpoke

I named him Leonard. I’m not sure why. He was the only sloth in the display of “Warmies” stuffed animals near the checkout at the hardware store that day, and his sweet little sloth face was just too hard to resist.

Sometime after bringing Leonard home, I happened upon an episode of “The Children’s Hour,” the kid-driven educational program on KUNM from 9-10 a.m. on Saturdays, that was all about sloths! So I listened and took notes. I read about them in my 1965 Audubon Nature Encyclopedia, visited websites, including the Sloth Institute mentioned in the radio program, and learned a lot about these amazing and often misunderstood creatures.

In the wild, sloths live only in the forests of Central and South America, navigating their lives mostly in the tree canopy, hanging upside down and using their long claws to grip branches within, and to-and-from trees. There are two main types: two-toed and three-toed, and six species under that (two of which are currently endangered).

Leonard was fashioned after a three-toed sloth because he has the full black eye mask that makes their faces look so sweet and endearing. They move slowly, gracefully and deliberately, are excellent climbers and swimmers, but struggle to locomote on the ground due to their long claws and gangly arms.

They’re similar in size to a medium-sized dog but don’t weigh a lot because their bodies aren’t very big — it’s the long hair that makes them look bigger — hair that is also quite unique; long on their stomachs, wrapping around to their backs which, since they’re upside down most of the time, allows rain to run off easily!

A thick undercoat of fur protects them from insect bites. On the two-toed sloth, the individual hairs are grooved, while the three-toed have small sideways cuts in them. Algae grow within these crevices, each type of sloth hosting a different species of algae. The larvae of small moths feed on the algae which changes color with the seasons, helping the sloth with camouflage. All parties coexist peacefully in a perfect ecosystem, right on the sloth’s back.

Solitary, nocturnal animals with extremely slow metabolisms, sloths eat, sleep, mate and raise their young within the bounds of their chosen territory or “natal home range.” They feast primarily on Cecropia trees, whose leaves can measure 16 inches across and, as I read in the Audubon book, may take a sloth up to 30 minutes to eat.

Mothers introduce their young to the trees in their natal range so that when he or she is ready to venture out on their own they know where to find food. Then, get this — the mother leaves the natal home range to her son or daughter and finds a new home for herself.

It’s a fairly peaceful existence, but there are perils. Aside from predators like big cats, tree-climbing boas and harpy eagles, the sloth’s biggest threat comes from man, that being habitat loss. This plays out in a variety ways including, for example, when trees are cut from a sloth’s natal home range, it’s like the kitchen disappeared.

Sam Trull from The Sloth Institute says rescuers often find young underweight animals in need of a good meal and some rest and relaxation before being reintroduced to new trees to feast on.

Deforestation destroys portions of the tree canopy, impeding sloths’ ability to travel back and forth in their home range. Some fall to the ground where they’re preyed upon or hit by cars. In the air they resort to using electrical wires (which apparently are not well insulated) and end up getting electrocuted. Trull and her team stay busy rescuing those who survive, and building rope bridges between trees where sloth activity is high.

Another dark threat that exists is the cruel and intentional capture and transport of sloths and other wild animals for the illegal exotic pet trade, or the many unaccredited, largely unregulated, and always abusive “roadside zoos” where wild animals are kept in cramped cages, denied their natural habitat and behaviors, and are forced to be handled by humans for entertainment and profit. Sadly, sloths are “at the top of the list” for this activity (Sloth Conservation Foundation).

I plan to write more about these places next month, but for now, remember that we can all lessen our impact on these issues by being mindful and cautious with our use of natural resources, not patronizing roadside wildlife zoos, and by supporting organizations dedicated to preserving the ecosystems of our planet for animals, ourselves, and future generations.

(Colleen Dougherty is a writer, educator, artist and behavioral health therapist. She has worked and volunteered in animal welfare for more than 20 years, and has spoken at several animal welfare conferences. She holds degrees in art and counseling therapy, and graduate certificates in eco-psychology and humane education. Her passion is fostering joyful and respectful relationships between animals, humans and the earth. She’s been writing Paw it Forward since 2016.)