Sloth Raising Two Babies?
We frequently receive this question: Can a sloth raise two babies?
Occasionally, sloths have been known to give birth to twins. Since there is only enough room on the female’s chest for one baby, and the sloth’s very slow metabolism only provides enough resources for one, the weakest twin will usually be rejected and abandoned. However, there are always exceptions to any rule.
Two-fingered sloth with two babies
This video of a two-fingered sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni), seemingly with twins, was originally posted by Dionisio Paniagua, a renowned Costa Rican tour guide, and filmed in Finca la Cayetana, Coris de Cartago, Costa Rica. In the video, you can see the mother peacefully sleeping while hanging from a branch, with the two babies resting on her chest.
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Dionisio mentioned that one of the babies seemed smaller than the other. It’s unclear whether this is another rare case where the mother adopted the second baby, or if the smaller baby is indeed a twin that is receiving less food. This wouldn’t be unusual, as there are many examples of offspring gaining an advantage over their weaker siblings. The photographer Alonso Sanchez took the following photos:
For an animal like the sloth, which cannot produce large amounts of milk and only produces it on demand (since they can’t store it like other mammals), it is possible that a sloth mother’s milk production may not be sufficient for two babies.
Three-fingered sloth
We also received an amazing report from the owner of a rental in Puerto Viejo, South Caribbean of Costa Rica, of a three-fingered sloth (Bradypus variegatus) seen with two babies clinging to her.
Are these baby sloths twins?
It’s hard to tell, especially because in neither case were we able to witness the events firsthand or take samples for genetic tests, so we can’t confirm if these are actually twins.
Did the sloths successfully raise two babies, or were the second babies orphans that these mothers recently adopted? Or perhaps, this is a result of human intervention where someone placed the second babies with the mothers? As is often the case with sloths, we are left with more questions than answers.
-Cecilia Pamich
