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Two-Toed Sloth

General: Ancestors of present day sloths were about the size of elephants, 60 million years ago. These ground sloths became extinct about 10,000 years ago; all currently living species live in the trees.

Two-toed sloths, such as the CPZ’s Matilda, are nocturnal. Due to her species’ low metabolism and low body temperature, she needs about 15 hours of sleep a day! She is likely to stay in the trees most of the time, coming down about once a week to release feces and urine. This fecal material, which may weigh as much as 2 pounds, is high in nutrients and helps to fertilize the surrounding plants.

Habitat: Found in the rainforest canopy of Central America south through the Amazon basin.

Exhibit: Matilda has the entire Tropic building to navigate. Keep an eye out for her, she blends in well with the surrounding trees, with her long brown fur. Sloths tend to spend most of their time in trees, away from potential predators.

Threats: Deforestation. In some parts of South America, two-toed sloths are hunted for their meat.

Diet: Sloths have large, chambered stomachs to help digest plant material. Digestion can take as long as a month. In the wild, two-toed sloths eat leaves, fruit, flowers, and buds. In the CPZ, Matilda is fed a variety of greens, carrots, yams, and apple pieces.

Life span: Sloths may live about 14-15 years in the wild. In captivity, they have been known to live up to 30 years.

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