If there is an animal full of curious singularities, that is the sloth. Of this mammal that lives exclusively in Central and South America, six different species are known, two of them in a high degree of threat. One of them, the two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) is now part of the Bioparc Fuengirola family. Thanks to its new extension and the recreation of South American rainforests, the Malaga animal park has been able to begin conserving this species and become part of the EAZA EEP that protects it.
The first two-toed sloth specimens that she has received are Reina and Flo, a couple that, for weeks now, have been freely roaming around the Bioparc Fuengirola aviary. An area of 1.100 m2 and 14 m high where they live with small primates and birds such as marmosets, toucanets, vultures, etc. On the occasion of World Sloth Day, the park presents these two sloth specimens and calls for awareness about their protection.
Inhabitants of the dense rainforests of South America, two-toed sloths have sparked the curiosity of scientists and nature lovers for decades. Often shrouded in myth, these slow-moving animals are much more than creatures unique in appearance and behavior; they are a threatened species facing major conservation challenges.
More than 60 percent of their day is spent sleeping, 20 percent is spent eating and 16 percent is spent grooming.
One of the most widespread myths about sloths is that their slowness is due to laziness or inactivity, when in reality it is an adaptation to their environment. Their low metabolism allows them to conserve energy, which is necessary for their survival in the treetops, where their diet consists mainly of leaves, flowers and fruits. This metabolism means that more than sixty percent of their daily life must be spent sleeping.
This slowness not only helps them camouflage themselves and go unnoticed by predators such as jaguars or harpy eagles, but also gives them a long life, which can extend up to fifty years.
The two-toed sloth is considered a 'vulnerable' species by the IUCN Red List, mainly due to the loss of its natural habitat. Massive deforestation in the rainforests of South America, along with illegal wildlife trafficking and climate change, has significantly reduced the areas where it can live.
Some subpopulations, especially those in Colombia, Central America, Bolivia and Brazil are in decline due to severe habitat degradation and fragmentation. Its disappearance in Honduras and Bolivia is related to extensive cattle ranching and fires. In Brazil, the few known records of the presence of Choloepus hoffmanni They come from now deforested areas of the Amazon.
The biodiversity of Central and South America
With the opening of the American ecosystems, Bioparc Fuengirola is participating in new Endangered Species Programs coordinated by EAZA, such as the golden and Goeldi's marmosets, the white-faced saki, the sloth, the giant otter, the blue-throated conure, the guan, the green toucanet, the Jamaican partridge pigeon, or the emperor tamarin. These are added to other EEPs in which it already collaborates, such as the Sumatran tiger, the western lowland gorilla, the Malayan tapir, the Komodo dragon, or the pygmy hippopotamus. All these animals live in the recreation of the tropical forests of the island of Madagascar, equatorial Africa, Southeast Asia, the Indo-Pacific, and now, Central and South America.
