BBC Wildlife - UK (2019-12)

December 2019

LUCYCOOKEisfounderoftheSlothAppreciation

Society(slothville.com).HerbookTheUnexpected

Tr u t ha b o u tA n i m a l s is out now (Black Swan, £8.99).

Inourseriesaboutpeoplewithapassionforaspecies,weaskzoologistand

author Lucy Cooke why she cares so much aboutpygmy three-toed sloths.

LUCY COOKE

Whyisthepygmythree-toed

slothCriticallyEndangered?

It is onlyfoundononetinyisland

calledEscudoofftheCaribbeancoastof

Panama.Theirpopulationis unknown

butthoughttobeverysmall,and

theirmainthreatis fromtourismand

development.Panamais changingat an

alarmingrate– thesoundofchainsaws

fillstheair– becausethesloths’home

haslovelywhitebeaches that are coveted

bydevelopers.

Whatdoweknow about

thespecies?

Myfavouritefactaboutpygmysloths

is thattheymaywellbetheworld’s

onlystonedsloths.Whenthebiologist

BrysonVoirinstudiedtheirsleep

patternshenoticedtheyresembled

thoseofanimalsthathadbeengiven

sedatives.Hehypothesisedthatthis

couldbedowntotheirdiet.Some

mangroveleavesareknowntocontain

alkaloidswithnarcoticproperties.So

pygmysmaybetheonlyslothsthat

don’tjustlookstonedbutarestoned!

Howdoslothsevade

predators?

Theyaremastersofdisguise,

hidingfromdangerinstead

oftryingtoescapeit.Their

furhasgroovesthat

trapmoistureandact

astinyhydroponic

gardensfora range

uprightexistence,whichburnsless

energy.Unlikeotherwarm-blooded

creatures,theydon’tusetheirinternal

combustionenginetokeepa constant

bodytemperature.Energyfromthesun

is free,sotheybasklikelizardsandhave

anunusuallythickcoatforthetropics.

Slothsarealsocreativerecyclers– they

aretheonlymammalweknowofthat

doesn’tfart:wastegasaccumulatesin

theirstomachandhelps keep them

af loatinwater.

What’sthedifference

betweenBradypusand

Choloepussloths?

Bradypusslothsarealsoknownasthree-

toedsloths,whereasCholoepusare

knownastwo-toed.However,both

specieshavethreetoes– it is their

fingerdigitsthatdifferinnumber.

Choloepusslothshavelongblonde-

brownhairandlooklikea cross

betweena Wookieeanda pig,whereas

thesmallerBradypushasgrey-brown

fur,bandedfacemarkings,wearsan

enigmaticMonaLisasmileandoftena

bowlhaircut.Bradypusarefussier

eaters,preferringleavesoftheCecropia

tree.Choloepusarehardier,a bitfaster

and have a more varied diet.Jo Price

WILDLIFE CHAMPION

VIEWPOINT

ofalgae.Thisgives

thema greenish

hueandhelpsthem

mergewiththe

trees.Pygmysspend

a lotoftimeinthe

mangrovesandare

greatswimmers.

WhydidyoustarttheSloth

AppreciationSociety?

I feltthatslothswereunfairly

maligned.Peoplewouldaskme,

“Howcanslothsexistwhentheyare

suchlosers?”Slothsarenot‘lazy’;

theyareextremelysuccessfulanimals

thathavehauntedtheplanetinone

shapeoranotherforthepast 60

millionyears.Thesecrettotheir

successis theirslothfulnature. They

areenergy-savingicons.

Howdoslothssaveenergy?

Slothscanexistonaslittleas 100

caloriesa day,thankstosome

ingeniousadaptations.Turningtheir

livesupsidedownrequiresfewer

musclesthan supporting an

The expert view

EDGE’sprogrammeis helpingto

conservethepygmysloththrougha

long-termmonitoringscheme.We’re

alsoinvolvedineducationwithlocal

indigenouscommunities.Bycollaboratingwith

schools,governmentbodies,localNGOsand

researchcentresinPanama,wearedevisinga

plantoensurelanduseregulationis implemented

inordertobetterprotectthespecies.

DaviTelesis LatinAmericaprojectsmanageratEDGE

of Existence, ZSL (Zoological Society of London).

Slothscan

existonjust

100 calories

aday.They

areenergy-

saving icons.

S

T

Sloth: Larry Minden/Minden/Alamy