Brown-Throated Three-Toed Sloth (Bradypus variegatus)
Number 0053
I didn’t know much about sloths, but my friend Laura requested one, and boy, I think they’re one of my favorite mammals now. I just love the way they look, like a cross between Chewbacca and E.T., and I love that they sleep 20 hours a day and hardly move even when they’re awake. I love their claws and their coarse fur. A few things you should check out:
a three-month-old three-toed sloth on Flickr
a three-toed sloth swimming (they swim really well!)
“The Propagation of the Species,” a poem by Jennifer Michael Hecht, also recommended by Laura, that contains a joke about a sloth