Seminary in Panama: My Friend, the Sloth

You may have noticed that I have mentioned in my posts from time to time a three-toed sloth. In fact, I was wrong - it is actually a two-toed sloth - I apologise for this momunmental error.

Sloths are the only animal, as far as I am aware, that are named after a deadly sin, the reason being that they do very little. Sloths can sleep for up to 20 hours a day and, when they do wake up, they move very slowly indeed. In fact, they usually only wake up to feed or to move to a different branch or tree.

This inactivity means that sloths need to be very discreet about how they do things. They generally prefer to remain high up in the trees and they remain in the middle of the tree, obscured by the mix of branches and leaves. Their hairy coat makes them very difficult to spot. They are further protected by the fact that they are filthy - their hair provides a home to all sorts of insects and sloths will famously wallow in the filthiest of places (including cess pits) thus making them unattractive as a potential meal for predators.

They are very shy creatures and, though largely passive (they will often not move even when prodded and cajoled), the large claws that they use to hang on to branches can be used to great effect as a weapon when they feel threatened. They are, however, generally very gentle creatures and this reputation means that it is not unusual here for children to have a cuddly sloth instead of a teddy bear.

Another thing about sloths is that they hang upside down from the branches of the trees, meaning that they look at the world upside down - all in all a very unique perspective on things.

Because of all this sloths are notoriously difficult to photograph so I am really chuffed to have been able to take some reasonably clear photos of my companion who spends most of his day hanging from a branch just outside my window at a height of more or less a four-storey building.
I hope you like them.