I just have a question... This may sound quite stupid but I am only 13 years old, but is there any way in this life time can I own a Three-Toed sloth they are so cute and so sweet looking. If you don't have the time to answer right away it is ok but please answer.
Love,
Mary Taylor
Dear Mary Taylor,
Thank you for showing an interest in coming to visit the tropics. I hope that you get a chance to come, because I am certain that you will enjoy it.
As for the question about owning a 3-toed sloth, I am afraid that having one of these adorable animals for your own is nearly impossible. Even zoological gardens, which specialize in exotic animals, have been unable to maintain these animals in a healthy state. The reason is that each individual 3-toed sloth has its own individual diet, that it shares only with it mother, siblings, and grandmother. Like other mammals that eat a diet composed nearly exclusively of leaves, the 3-toed sloth by itself cannot digest its food. Instead, it relies upon bacteria to digest the leaves, breaking down cellulose (a major component of the leaves) into more digestible matter. Each 3-toed sloth is taught what to eat by its mother, from whom it also inherits its particular set of bacteria, which are specialized in breaking down only leaves from the plants that the sloth eats. If the diet of the sloth is changed, for example, if it is taken out of the wild and brought into civilization to live, it cannot digest its new food, and, in the end, it will starve to death.
The sloths that you see in zoos are 2-toed sloths, and some people have successfully kept these animals as pets, because they are not as particular about their diet as the 3-toed sloths. However, I would advise against keeping a 2-toed sloth, or any other wild animal, as a pet. Although 2-toed sloths survive in captivity, it does not mean they are happy in captivity, away from the trees and birds and other sloths with whom they are familiar. And, although I am sure that you would love you sloth very much, love--human love-- really is not enough. Some animals, such as dogs and most cats, respond well to human love--thousands of years of associating with (and being bred by) humans has imparted an ability to appreciate human love. However, sloths and other wild creatures do not have this ability, and human love does not meet their particular needs. Sloths require sloth love. Only another sloth can provide that.
Instead of acquiring a sloth for your own, I hope that you will consider visiting the sloths in their native habitat, where they are as happy as sloths can be. There are a number of localities in Costa Rica and some of the other Neotropical countries where you can see sloths, if you look hard enough.
Best wishes,
Neal Woodman
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
East Stroudsburg University
East Stroudsburg, PA