Sloths (Folivora or Phyllophaga) are a suborder of medium-sized South American mammals of which two families still exist today: two-fingered sloths (Megalonychidae) and three-fingered sloths (Bradypodidae). The suborder is part of the order of sloths and anteaters. Sloths are herbivores and eat little other than leaves.Sloths have a tree-climbing lifestyle. Leaves, their main food source, provide little energy and are not easily digested: sloths therefore have a very large, specialized multi-part stomach in which symbiotic bacteria break down the stiff leaves. Sloths can also eat insects, small lizards and carcasses. In humid conditions, their fur contains bacteria that can provide camouflage. The fur is usually (deep) brown, but some wild sloths have a greenish hue thanks to the presence of the bacteria. The fur of such a sloth is an ecosystem in itself. Algae and bacteria have nestled between its hairs and give its fur that typical greenish hue. The sloth defends itself with its claws when in danger. This is its only defense mechanism. The sloth is mainly vulnerable on the ground. When hanging in a tree they are almost unnoticeable because they move so slowly.A sloth walks on the ground no faster than 2.5 meters per minute. Over a distance of one kilometer, it would take it over 6.5 hours.
I am Maarten Verhees. The focus of my photographs is on the variation of architecture, animals and people. I try to capture the essence of local places in photographs... Read more…