Reproduction

There is still little information on the mating system of the Bradypus pygmaeus. They reproduce through sexual reproduction. In other Bradypus species there is evidence that the males will compete for access to mating opportunities with accepting females. Other species of sloth such as Bradypus Torquatus has been studied more. They copulate towards the end of the dry season and early wet season(August-October). This results in gestation and lactation during times with plenty of food. One infant is born after a gestation period of six months. The interbirth interval is one year. Sloths care for their young for up to six months.

A mother pygmy sloth climbing a tree with her young. Before a baby goes out on their own, a mother carries her cub everywhere with her.

Keywords: sexual reproduction, gestation

References:

Anderson, R., C. Handley. 2001. A New Species of Three-toed Sloth (Mammalia: Xenarthra) from Panama, with a Review of the Genus Bradypus. Proceedings of the Biological society of Washington, 114: "1-33". http://web.sci.ccny.cuny.edu/~anderson/publications/AndersonHandley2001ProceedingsBiologicalSocietyWashington.pdf.

Kaviar, S., Shockey, J., Sundberg, P. (2012). Observation on the Endemic Pygmy Three-toed Sloth, Bradypus Pygmaeus of the Isla Escudo de Veraguas, Panama. PLOS one.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0049854

ExpeditionArt.(n.d). Pygmy Three-Toed Sloth. https://www.expeditionart.org/pygmy-three-toed-sloth

Bradford, A. (2018, November 26). Sloths: The World’s Slowest Mammals. Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/27612-sloths.html

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