The brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) has a distributions that spans from Honduras down to Bolivia, making them the most widely distributed species of sloth.
Sloths are commonly categorized as two-toed or three-toed. However, this toe distinction is misleading because what you actually need to look at is their hands! All sloths have 3 toes on each foot, but the term is actually referring to the number of fingers they have.
Sloths evolved about 60 million years ago and about 30 million years ago giant sloths that roamed on the ground. Some of these megafauna reached sizes of about 6 meters in length or about 18 feet. They were larger than the male african bush elephant that we see today.
Some species of sloth are doing well in population numbers but some are not. The pygmy 3-toed sloth is one of the most endangered animals in the world due to having a small distribution and habitat degradation. The last census showed that there are fewer than 100 left in the wild. Thankfully, there are organizations whose goal is to save sloths.
One such example is a wildlife sanctuary in Costa Rica called Kids Saving The Rainforest - this organization rehabilitates brown-throated sloths and other Costa Rican wildlife.
15% of the sale of this print will be donated to Kids Saving the Rainforest!
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Want to know more about sloths? Check out my time lapse on my YouTube channel: