They swim with a dog-paddle stroke.ĭiet: Choloepus’ diet consists of the leaves of up to 12 different species of trees, certain flowers, and an occasional unripe fruit. They are much heavier and the hair absorbs water very quickly, causing them to drown quite easily. Their neck is very short, making it challenging to keep their head above water.
They cannot swim as well nor as far as the Bradypus (three-toed sloth). While on the ground they are exposed to predation by the larger jungle cats and snakes. Graceful, adept, and nearly predator-free in the trees, they move as slowly on the ground as they do in trees, walking on all fours like other quadrupeds. This lifestyle is interrupted by a weekly trip to the base of their favorite trees to urinate and defecate. They move down into the cooler interior branches when hot. Sloths are heterothermic –they must thermoregulate much like reptiles- and will move to the exposed upper branches of trees to increase their body temperature. Although considered nocturnal they are also active during daylight hours, and are more active than the Bradypus (three-toed sloth). Size: Adults are medium-sized animals body length between 1.8 – 2.4 feet (0.6 -0.7 m) weight around 18 pounds (8 kg).īehavior: Choloepus’ are solitary arboreal animals that eat, sleep, mate, and give birth while hanging from branches 90 feet up. This enables it to look for danger as it climbs down its tree headfirst to use the bathroom! Most mammals have only seven neck bones (cervical vertebrate) Choloepus has five (less than the Bradypus (three-toed sloth)) and is able to tip its head backwards in a 90 degree angle. The forelimbs have two hooked claws, the hind limbs have three, with long, hairless, fleshy pads on hands and feet. The ears are large, fleshy and hairless – quite human-like! The fore and hind limbs are long and almost equal in length. The eyes are large and may have darker circles around them. The mouth has only a slight smile under a protruding muzzle with a “pig-like” nose. The short fur on the chest and abdomen parts in the middle and grows downwards towards the long hair on the back, ending in a long “drip-tip” at the end of the torso which allows the rain to run off. The coat on the head, shoulders, and arms has a greenish cast, produced by algae growth on the hair shafts during the wet season. The coarse, long wavy hair that covers the body varies from whitish-blonde to dark brown. Description: The shaggy hair of the Choloepus Hoffmanni (two-toed sloth) is always a solid color with no distinguishing markings.
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