Is this baby Three-toed Sloth smiling? Only three weeks old, it seemingly posed for photographer Patrick Shea, part of the team representing Mystic Aquarium, Nautilus Live and The JASON Project. They were in Costa Rica the week of March 19, researching for a new Mystic Aquarium exhibit to open next year. The group was also scouting locations for live programming through JASON and Nautilus. Along the way they made a visit to the Sloth Sanctuary Costa Rica, where they rescue and rehabilitate injured and orphaned Sloths, and met the little one.

There are both Two-toed and Three-toed Sloths. Both are built for living their entire life - even when having babies - hanging in the trees, aided by those long, powerful claws. They are so sedentary that moss grows on their coat (which aids them as camouflage while living among the leaves)! This has won them the informal title of worlds slowest mammal. They sleep from 15-20 hours a day, and even while awake, they move very little, unless threatened by a predator.  At night they eat the trees leaves, shoots, and fruit and get almost all of their water from juicy plants.

You can read more ZooBorns posts about sloths from this sanctuary HERE.