Choloepus hoffmanni
Mammal | South America


Animal Info
Our sloth’s name is Okra Mae, and she was born on June 27, 1994. Hoffman’s two-toed sloths (like Okra Mae) move at a rate of 6 inches per second, when they move at all. Most of a sloth’s life is spent in tree canopies. They descend to the ground only once a week. Sloths may take up to a month to digest a meal. They have low body temperatures to conserve energy, as their leaf-based diets are not very nutritious.
Wild sloths often appear green due to the algae
that grows in their fur. This helps provide them with camouflage in the trees. While they are relatively silent as adults, sloths make bleating alarm calls when separated from their mothers when young. A sloth will live out most of its life in the same 25 trees. Usually only one sloth
inhabits a tree at any one time.
Sloths have very poor senses of sight and hearing. They rely on smell and touch to experience the world and find food.
Diet
In the wild: plant matter such as flowers and leaves
Habitat
Lowland forest and rainforest in South America reaching into Central America
Conservation Status
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – least concern