A pygmy three-toed sloth climbing a mangrove. Photo taken by Sam Kaviar.
A low estimate of 79 pygmy three-toed sloths (Bradypus pygmaeus) remain on Isla Escudo de Veraguas, a small island off of Panama, making them one of the rarest animals in the world.
In May of 2011, three Evergreen biology students traveled to Panama to study manatees. Their project changed course when they learned of the pygmy sloths living on Isla Escudo de Veraguas. Their survey of these critically endangered pygmy sloths and the work surrounding the project has brought light upon these little creatures along with hope, as the local community embraces a new responsibility. You can learn more in the article released by Scientific American.
I hope the outreach they are doing in the community helps to protect the mangroves that these sloths depend upon from further cutting. Sloths of all kinds are such unique and special animals that we should do everything we can to protect their delicate habitats.
Pingback: from The Horse’s Mouth: Interview of Jakob Shockey ’12 – Endangered Pygmy Sloths « Evergreen Revival
Pingback: from The Horse’s Mouth: Interview of Jakob Shockey ’12 – Endangered Pygmy Sloths | The Evergreen Mind