The 3-Toed Sloth is a famous animal, recently and noticeably gaining popularity due to zootopia’s portrayal of the animal. The dopey face and slow movements are all notable characteristics of the animal, but beneath these characteristics lies some unique hidden traits.

First, there are two primary types of sloths: the two-toed sloth and the three-toed sloth. The two vs three prefix is a bit of a misnomer, as all sloths have three toes. Where they differ, however, is in their fingers. The three-toed sloths have three fingers and the two toed sloths do not. The three-toed sloth is also actually a group of sloths, the most common being the Brown Throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus). This species can be found in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. They are registered as “Least Concern” by the IUCN.

Other notable facts include their slow metabolism. It is so slow, in fact, that they only need to defecate once a week, albeit a really large defecation. This is also when they are most vulnerable, as they have to come down to the forest floor to do so. They have coarse hair that actually has small cracks in it. This enables algae to accumulate on them and provides excellent camouflage in the trees. Overall, this species isn’t in particular danger of extinction/endangerment, so I would recommend that we don’t focus on this species conservation-wise. The threat to tropical rainforests by deforestation and climate change poses a larger threat, not only to sloths but to numerous other species worldwide. An alternative conservation plan could focus on those issues.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1616504707000523

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-toed_sloth