Observation of brown-throated three-toed sloths: mating behaviour and the simultaneous nurturing of two young

Abstract

Bradypus variegatus is a member of the Order Pilosa, Family Bradypodidae, and is distributed in many subtropical and tropical countries in South and Central America. However, studies on this species in the wild are relatively limited and many aspects of its reproductive behaviour are unknown or unclear. The current report presents new observations of the reproductive behaviour of B. variegatus in its natural environment. These include details of both a male-female copulation and the simultaneous nurturing of two young sloths.

Management of Wild Sloths in an Anthropized Area at Atlantic Forest

“…They remained attached after the fall, facing each other, and spent some time together vocalizing, biting and hitting each other (video at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=s8xlkbuH9uQ). There are previous reports of copulatory behaviour in B. variegatus, presenting this same continuously vocalization and also with the animals facing each other (Bezerra et al 2008). We record it on April, beginning of the wet season, which is in accordance to the mating season described previously for B. variegatus and B. torquatus (Laura-Ruiz & Chiarello 2005).…”

Agonistic interactions in the brown-throated three-toed sloth, Bradypus variegatus (Pilosa: Bradypodidae), in an urban environment in Rio Tinto, Paraiba, Brazil

“…We designated them male A and male B for identification during the interaction. Early in the morning, male A embraced a female from behind, similar to the posture described by Bezerra et al (2008) for the copulation behavior. The male A realized the presence and approximation of the male B.…”

“…The brown-throated three-toed sloth Brady pus variegatus, Schinz, 1985 is an arboreal mammal with a solitary social structure (Eisenberg, 1981). The interactions between individuals of this species occur generally during mating and parental care periods (Carvalho, 1960;Montgomery & Sunquist, 1974;Soares & Carneiro, 2002;Bezerra et al, 2008;Pinheiro, 2008). The interactions between sloths are more frequent in places with higher densities of individuals (Lara-Ruiz & Srbek-Araujo, 2006;Silva et al, 2013).…”

“…As already proposed by Greene (1989), agonistic interactions between two males of brown-throated three-toed sloths can be due to, among other factors, competition for females. The months in which agonistic interactions between males were mostly recorded correspond to the portion of the year (March to October and November) in which males of B. variegatus are seen to be sexually active, according to studies performed in north-eastern Brazil (Gilmore et al, 1994;Gilmore & Costa, 1995;Bezerra et al, 2008). However, considering that our sampling effort was not similar for all months during the four years of study, we cannot discard the possibility that interactions among males occur throughout the year.…”

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“…The brown-throated three-toed sloth Brady pus variegatus, Schinz, 1985 is an arboreal mammal with a solitary social structure (Eisenberg, 1981). The interactions between individuals of this species occur generally during mating and parental care periods (Carvalho, 1960;Montgomery & Sunquist, 1974;Bezerra et al, 2008;Pinheiro, 2008). The interactions between sloths are more frequent in places with higher densities of individuals (Lara-Ruiz & Srbek-Araujo, 2006;Silva et al, 2013).…”