Habitat: In both evergreen and dry forests, occur throughout primary and secondary forests and low canopy second-growth habitats. Geographical spread: S America; Honduras to northern Argentina.

Current population: N/A

Status: CITES Appendix IF.

Size: Head and body length 400-750mm, tail length 38-9Omm. Weight: 2.3-5.5kg.

Average life expectancy: 12 years, but at least 31 in captivity.

Normal diet: Feeds on leaves of many different trees high in the forest canopy.

Normal lifestyle: Nocturnal and diurnal, and usually solitary. Sloths spend practically their whole lives in trees, where they hang beneath a branch or sit in a fork. Locomotion is by using the claws as hooks to move along beneath a branch or to climb a trunk. They maintain a low but variable body temperature and are inactive during the cooler hours of the night. In the early mornings they sit in trees with crowns exposed to the sun and warm themselves. On the ground sloths are virtually unable to walk and have an average ground speed of 1 .8-2.4m/minute. They can however swim well either doing breaststroke or front crawl. Believed to breed throughout the year and amorous males pursue the females through the trees at an impressive 4.6m/minute. Females give birth to a single young which she helps to a teat. The young are weaned after about and month and begin to feed on leaves. They are carried by their mother for 6-9 months and feed on leaves they can reach from this position. The young inherit a portion of the mothers home range and also her taste for particular tree species. Females give birth in successive years.

Current threats: Faced with habitat destruction.