Linnaeus’s Two-Toed Sloth
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Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (or unau) lives in the tropical rainforests in the northern part of South America. It is a private and solitary animal that moves no more than 40 metres per day. Sloths spend most of their time hanging upside down in trees, clinging to the branches with their very long claws. Their front legs have only two toes which are fused together, and on the back legs there are three toes.
Their fur grows from their stomach to their back and not the other way around as in other mammals. The fur often has a greenish tinge because of the algae that lives in it.
The sloths feed on the leaves of trees. They get their water from their food only, although they sometimes drink dew. It takes one whole month for food they have eaten to be fully digested. They excrete waste no more than once a week, and go down to ground level in order to do so. On the ground they move at a very slow speed.
They are solitary animals, but do not have a particular territory. Predators of the sloth include big cats and the harpy eagle.
In the wild they can live for around 20 years. In captivity they can live twice as long as this.
Their fur grows from their stomach to their back and not the other way around as in other mammals. The fur often has a greenish tinge because of the algae that lives in it.
The sloths feed on the leaves of trees. They get their water from their food only, although they sometimes drink dew. It takes one whole month for food they have eaten to be fully digested. They excrete waste no more than once a week, and go down to ground level in order to do so. On the ground they move at a very slow speed.
They are solitary animals, but do not have a particular territory. Predators of the sloth include big cats and the harpy eagle.
In the wild they can live for around 20 years. In captivity they can live twice as long as this.
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