Гривастый ленивец: Экология и угрозы исчезновения.

Species of mammals related to anteaters and armadillos

The maned sloth (Bradypus torquatus) is a three toed sloth that is native to South America. It is one of four species of three toed sloths belonging to the suborder Xenarthra and are placental mammals. They are endemic to the Atlantic coastal rainforest of southeastern and northeastern Brazil, located in the states of Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. Each of the individuals within the species are genetically distinct with different genetic makeup. The maned sloth is listen under Vulnerable (VU) according to the IUCN Red List and have a decreasing population trend. This makes some of the regions in which Bradypus torquatus occupies extraordinarily isolated which causes a lot of inbreeding, affecting the genetic diversity of the species in other areas. Individual maned sloths have reported to travel over a home range of 0.5 to 6 hectares (1.2 to 14.8 acres), with estimated population densities of 0.1 to 1.25 per hectare (0.04 to 0.51/acre). The maned sloth is typically found in wet tropical forests with very hot and humid climates that have a very minimal dry season with an annual rainfall of at least 1,200 mm (47.2 in). In the Atlantic coastal rainforest, the wet season is from October to April while the dry season is from may to September. Bradypus torquatus are generally spotted in predominantly evergreen forests, although, with their ability to eat a wide range of leaves, they can also inhabit semi deciduous and secondary forests. Bradypus torquatus actually chose their habitat carefully. They tend to occupy more shaded areas with larger trees and avoid areas that are more out in the open. Many parts of the forest that maned sloths inhabit have been affected by anthropogenic deforestation and their habitat has been reduced down to 7% of the range of the original biome. It is the main threat to their existence.

Maned sloths have a pale brown to gray pelage. Long outer hair covers a short, dense, black and white underfur. The coarse outer coat is usually inhabited by algae, mites, ticks, beetles, and moths. The maned sloth's small head features fur covered pinnae and anterior oriented eyes that are usually covered by a mask of black hair. The sides of the maned sloth's face and neck feature long hair covering the short hair of the sloth's snout. Facial vibrissae on the maned sloth are sparse. Adult males have a total head body length of , with a tail about long and a weight of Females are generally larger, measuring , and weighing Like all other sloths, the maned sloth has very little muscle mass in comparison to other mammals its size. This reduced muscle mass allows it to hang from thin branches.

Maned sloths are solitary diurnal animals, spending up to 60% to 80% of their day asleep, with the rest more or less equally divided between feeding and traveling. Sloths sleep in crotches of trees or by dangling from branches by their legs and tucking their head in between their forelegs.

Maned sloths are folivores, and feed exclusively on tree leaves. Overall their diet is broad but they do prefer younger leaves and some plants are consumed more than others. They have many adaptations morphologically, physiologically as well as behaviorally to feed on leaves from trees. These leaves contain very little protein and basic carbohydrates, resulting in an extremely low energy diet. Their diet and their small body size combined make their food pass through their bodies at a very slow rate. Cecropia is one of the main plants consumed by the three toed sloth genus, Bradypus, however in the case of the maned sloth it is not. In fact eating mostly Cecropia as their diet can lead to death in a lot of the individuals.

Some reports indicate that maned sloths are able to breed year round, but in most cases, reproduction of maned sloths is seasonal. Mating normally takes place between the months of August through October. This period of time is referred to as the late dry season, August and September, and the beginning of the wet or rainy season, October. The wet and hotter season of the year is better for pregnant mothers and infant sloths because of their slow metabolism and their inability to control their body temperature. On the other hand, sloths are born mostly between the months of February to April, which is the early part of the dry season, April and the end of the rainy season, February and March. The period of time between pregnancies, or the inter birth interval of a female maned sloth is one year. The mother gives birth to a single young, which initially weighs around and lacks the distinctive mane found on adults. The young begin to take solid food at two weeks, and are fully weaned by two to four months of age.