The Taipei Zoo yesterday moved a family of two-toed sloths to its Asian Tropical Rainforest area in celebration of International Sloth Day and to encourage people to appreciate a relaxed pace of life.
The natural habitat of the sloths is the tropical rainforests of Central and South America, where they live in trees, the zoo said, adding that they only come down once or twice a week to defecate.
They are considered the least active of all mammals, the zoo said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Zoo
Nocturnal by nature, sloths usually rest during the day and often immediately return to their “napping pose” after their sunset meal, the zoo said.
“Most of the time, not even our caretakers can discern whether they are moving,” the zoo said.
However, sloths can move quickly when they want to, it said.
Two-toed sloths can grab anything within 2m of their body, it said.
The zoo is home to one family of eight sloths, with the ninth expected soon, it said, adding that except for the father and mother, all are named after the colors of the rainbow.
The stereotype of the sloths is perhaps best portrayed by the character Flash Slothmore in the animated film Zootopia, the zoo said.
However, the character in the film is a three-toed sloth, which is not closely related to the two-toed sloth, it said.
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