Slothy Sunday: A moment of appreciation for the two-fingered sloth

Today’s edition of Slothy Sunday honors the Hoffman’s two-toed sloth, which, like a leap day, is often forgotten.

Costa Rica is home to two sloth species: the brown-throated three-toed sloth, and also the very under-appreciated Hoffman’s two-toed sloth.

Why are they under-appreciated? Well, the three-toed sloth’s face looks like it’s perpetually smiling, making it more popular with animal-spotters and tourists.

But let’s give a little love to the two-fingered sloths. First, by calling them by a more anatomically correct name — because all sloths have three toes, and the difference is actually in the number of fingers (as you can see in this story’s picture!).

Two-fingered sloths have big round eyes, a cute pig nose, and are fluffy, with tan to brown, thick fur. They have large elf-like ears hidden in the depths of their furry heads. The skin around their nose is shiny and smooth, like an old worn baseball glove, and is normally dry but may bead up with sweat while they are sniffing the air for some tasty tree or just concentrating while pottying at the base of a tree.

Their nocturnal lifestyle and their lack of a permanent smile may be some of the reasons why the two-fingered sloths have been mostly ignored in favor of their more smiley-faced sloth relatives, but they are equally fascinating if given the chance.

The Toucan Rescue Ranch specializes in helping wild animals recover so that they can be reintroduced into the wild. For more information or to donate, visit the Toucan Rescue Ranch website.