Hoffmann's Two-Toed Sloth

Choloepus hoffmanni

Hoffmann's two-toed sloth is an arboreal mammal of humid and seasonally dry forests in Central and South America. Despite the name, the two digits are on the forelimbs; the hind feet have three clawed toes. Compared with three-toed sloths, Choloepus hoffmanni is larger, more nocturnal, and more flexible in diet, taking leaves, shoots, fruit, and flowers. Its shaggy coat parts along the belly so rain runs off while it hangs upside down, and algae may grow in the hair, giving some animals a greenish cast.

Most human care occurs in zoos, rescue centers, and wildlife rehabilitation programs, with the illegal pet trade creating many welfare problems. Sloths need warm, humid, vertically complex enclosures with stable climbing routes and quiet handling, since stress, chilling, and falls can be serious. Diets in managed care rely on carefully selected browse and formulated leaf-eater foods rather than random household produce. Rehabilitation teams must assess grip strength, feeding, human habituation, and safe canopy habitat before release, and many injured or confiscated animals cannot be returned to the wild.