“You must avoid sloth, that wicked siren.” — Horace
Presumably Horace was referring to one of the 7 Deadly Sins and not to this harmless little guy. In May of 2009 I was fortunate enough to visit the Peruvian Amazon and I got up close and personal with this fella — the humble sloth . Maybe it’s because they like their sleep as much as I do, or maybe it’s that little smile they always seem to have on their face; either way, they get two thumbs up (or is that three?) in my book.
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Isn’t he gorgeous! I saw them in the Amazon forest in Brazil, the cutest thing ever!
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I’ve always thought they were awesome too! Was so happy to finally get so close….
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Hi Raymond,
I’ll be going to Perù next summer and one of my purpose is seeing a sloth, the others are seeing an ant-eater, a spider monkey and a tapir…Is it easy to see a sloth?
Where exactly have you seen it?
We’ll be going to Puerto Maldonado and the forest around it but unluckily not in Iquitos and in the northern part.Do you have any suggestions? A good Zoo!!
Thanks
Valentina
Hi Valentina,
Thanks for stopping by! This sloth that I saw was along the Amazon river — it was wounded and was being cared for by an elderly lady who took tips for its care. We did see a couple more in the trees, but they don’t tend to get too close to folks on the ground. I would ask around when you get there — the locals will know better than anyone where their stomping grounds are. Sorry I wasn’t more help!
Look at that face!! I’ve never been that close to a sloth. Wow!
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You could actually even touch her — she wasn’t running away…;)
Truly fascinating fellows – I’ve seen them in both Costa Rica and Belize. They move so slowly (only about 6 ft. per minute!) and stay put in the same tree for weeks – even years on end. Clearly extremely vulnerable to predadors while on the ground, they only come down from their perches once a week to go to the bathroom!
Indeed, back when I was guiding small groups to Monteverde in Costa Rica, there was one that was so reliably curled up in the crook of the tree next to our lodge – I could always count on him for a group photo op from our balcony!
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Wow that must have been great! Almost like having one as a pet. You should have charged for pictures — pad the retirement nest egg….;)
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Adorable photo! I love sloths, but have never gotten that close either.
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Nice photo, I hear they only come down from the trees to actually use the bathroom.
Thankfully he did not do that in front of me…
Très belle photo et quelle chance d’avoir pu la prendre.
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He is so cute. And I guess he couldn’t get away quick enough before you took the photo!
Julia
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He seemed pretty content to just stay and stare. Although running is not his strong suit for sure…
Very cute!