The
Pygmy Three-toed Sloth (
Bradypus pygmaeus) is a
three-toed slothThe three-toed sloths are the only members of the Bradypus genus and the Bradypodidae family. There are four living species of three-toed sloths...
. Its habitat is located on the tiny island of
Isla Escudo de VeraguasIsla Escudo de Veraguas is an isolated island of the Republic of Panama. Despite its name, it is not part of the province of Veraguas, but rather Bocas del Toro...
off the coast of
PanamaPanama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the...
. As its name suggests, it is a dwarf of its mainland relatives; it is likely a product of
insular dwarfismInsular dwarfism, a form of Phyletic dwarfism, is the process and condition of the reduction in size of large animals – almost always mammals – when their gene pool is limited to a very small environment, primarily islands...
. It weighs 40% less and is 20% smaller than other three-toed sloths. It is specialized for the
mangroveMangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S. The saline conditions tolerated by various species range from brackish water, through pure seawater , to water of over twice the salinity of ocean seawater,...
forests surrounding the island and this is the only place it has been seen.
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The
Pygmy Three-toed Sloth (
Bradypus pygmaeus) is a
three-toed slothThe three-toed sloths are the only members of the Bradypus genus and the Bradypodidae family. There are four living species of three-toed sloths...
. Its habitat is located on the tiny island of
Isla Escudo de VeraguasIsla Escudo de Veraguas is an isolated island of the Republic of Panama. Despite its name, it is not part of the province of Veraguas, but rather Bocas del Toro...
off the coast of
PanamaPanama, officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of both Central America and, in turn, North America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the...
. As its name suggests, it is a dwarf of its mainland relatives; it is likely a product of
insular dwarfismInsular dwarfism, a form of Phyletic dwarfism, is the process and condition of the reduction in size of large animals – almost always mammals – when their gene pool is limited to a very small environment, primarily islands...
. It weighs 40% less and is 20% smaller than other three-toed sloths. It is specialized for the
mangroveMangroves are trees and shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S. The saline conditions tolerated by various species range from brackish water, through pure seawater , to water of over twice the salinity of ocean seawater,...
forests surrounding the island and this is the only place it has been seen. The population size of the Pygmy Three-toed Sloth is declining mainly because of
poachingPoaching is the illegal hunting, fishing, trapping, or eating of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws...
.
Population and threats
The exact number of Pygmy Three-toed Sloths is not completely known, although its population is presumably low due to its restricted range and it is estimated that there are only around a few hundred alive. It is listed as
critically endangeredOrganisms with a conservation status of critically endangered have an extremely high risk of becoming extinct in the wild or completely extinct in the immediate future.-IUCN Category:...
by the
IUCN Red ListThe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1948, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is the world's main authority on the conservation...
. The island on which it lives is not inhabited by humans. However, fishermen who visit the island poach the sloth, and it is an easy target, for it only lives in the mangrove forests by the sea. Also a threat is the development of the island for tourism. Although protected as a wildlife refuge, the enforcement is lax.