Linnaeus Two Toed Sloth Natural History
Size
18 to 34 inches (86 cm) with a weight of 8 to 19lbs (8.6 kg).
Habitat and Distribution
This species inhabits the rainforests of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Guyana, Suriname & Venezuela.
Age
They have a lifespan of between 20 to 30 years.
Diet
These are herbivores feeding on a variety of fruits and leaves.
Groups and Breeding
Sloths do not pair for life and spend much of their time apart. However, after mating they go through a gestation of around 6 months. Generally they will give birth to a single baby.
Threats
The IUCN Red List classes them as least concern. However, they do face a wide variety of risks (caused by humans), which include deforestation and death/ injury from vehicles with many major roads now passing through many parts of their range.
Interesting Facts
These animals do not often go to the toilet, with food taking anything from 6 to 21 days to pass through their digestive system.
The Linnaeus Two Toed Sloth During Your Day Out in Kent
Our Linnaeus Two Toed Sloths, Sid and Noco can be found upstairs in the Chimpanzee House.
Sid joined us from Sandwich Wildlife Park in March 2021 after it closed, and he is an older boy who likes to take things slow… even for a sloth. Whilst Noco joined us at the end of 2022. She was born in spring 2021 at Bristol Zoo and moved to WWP after they also closed. We have been thrilled to give these loveable characters a home here with us and to see how adored they are by our visitors.
The more you know…
Want to know more about this animal? Check out our keeper blogs about them here.