Timbavati Wildlife Park - Keeper Talk With A Two Toed Sloth

Greetings friends and welcome to the month of July! That’s right the middle of the summer is upon us and family vacations are in full swing! You want to know what else is in full swing? Our Sloths! A sloth hangs around all day long with its curved claws. Let’s take a deeper look at one of the most requested animals in Timbavati Wildlife Park.

There are two types of sloths in the world, the three-toed and two-toed sloth. Sid, one of our park’s more recognizable residents is a two-toed sloth. Sloths are found in Central and South America. While their feet have three claws their hands only have two. 

While sloths are categorized as herbivores they have been known to eat small insects and lizards in the wild. Typically they love leaves, shoots, fruits and vegetables. A sloth’s temperature can range from 74 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit. If their body temperature gets too cold the bacteria in its stomach that helps it digest food can actually stop working. A sloth can starve to death with a stomach full of food if it can’t stay warm enough to digest its food.

Now a human can eat digest and remove bodily waste from a meal in 12 to 48 hours. A sloth by comparison can take up to 30 days to digest a leaf. This is interesting when you think about that in tandem with the speed of a sloth. A sloth moves quite slowly and deliberately to conserve energy. It even sleeps for up to 15 hours a day to save energy. This is a common theme in the animal world. A lot of animals sleep for a long time through the course of the day for energy conservation.

A sloth eats, mates and even gives birth while hanging from the trees. This is the safest place for it because it is a very slow mover on the ground. What about in water though, how do they move in water? Watch this weeks video for more great fun facts about the two-toed sloth. Visit our website for more information about visiting our park today! This 4th of July Veterans will receive a free admission when you show your military ID. Thank you for your service and we’ll talk with you all next week. Cheers!