Sloth
This is an old webpage carried forward to our new site. Please note that some of the information might be out of date and we probably have newer footage.
Sloth
The sloth is an amazing animal, unlike any other. Living off a diet of hard to digest and energy poor leaves it has a slow metabolism and slow lifestyle. It can spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping, letting its stomach slowly digest the leaves. The sloth grows and moves so slowly that it literally has algae growing on it and animals such as moths live within its fur. In spite of all that, the sloth is a wildlife favorite. It appears to be constantly grinning and its lazy lifestyle has many adminrable traits. The young are especially charismatic. Although odd, they are well suited for their arboreal lifestyle.
There are six species of sloth occurring in Central and South America. There closest relative is the anteaters, although it is a distant relationship. The extinct giant ground sloth of North America was as large as an elephant.
Filming Sloth Stock Footage
Filming sloth is on the one hand incredibly easy because once you find one its not going anywhere, at least not fast. On the other hand it can be very difficult as the animals are often high up in the canopy, partly obscured by branches and leaves, often with their back to you. So it makes it difficult to get a clear shot, plus the backlighting can often be strong.
Sloths are found in much of Central America. One of the best places to see them is at Manual Antonio National Park in Costa Rice. The main trail, i.e., road, through the park is known as sloth alley. Don’t worry, even if you don’t have the search image for finding the cryptic critters up in the trees there will probably be lots of other tourists to spot them for you.