Abstract
The common three-toed sloth is a widespread species, but the location and the observation of its individuals are greatly hindered by its biological features. Their camouflaged pelage, its slow and quiet movements, and the strictly arboreal habits resulted in the publication of sparse, fragmented and not patterned information on the common sloth behaviour. Thus, herein we propose an updated standardized behavioural categories' framework to the study of the species. Furthermore we describe two never reported interaction behaviours: a probable mating / courtship ritual between male and female; and apparent recognition behaviour between two males. Finally we highlight the contribution of small-duration field works in this elusive species ethological study.
Highlights
The common three-toed sloth, Bradypus variegatus (Schinz, 1825), is an obligatory arboreal mammal
The observations of all individuals resulted in 93 behaviour records, discriminated in Figure 2 and Appendix I
We have considered defecating as a behavioural category, and we suggest that future studies should consider sun-bathing as a sub-resting category, once it was a recurrent behaviour in common sloths
Summary
The common three-toed sloth, Bradypus variegatus (Schinz, 1825), is an obligatory arboreal mammal. Reproductive means were only reported once (Bezerra et al, 2008), more descriptive parental care three times (Bezerra et al, 2008; Soares and Carneiro, 2002; Pinheiro, 2008), and territorial occupancy is unclear (Bezerra et al, 2008; Hayssen, 2010; Lara-Ruiz and Srbeck-Araujo, 2006) Even this mammal’s social system is controversial. It is mostly described as being solitary (reviewed by Hayssen, 2010), and interactions between adult common sloth individuals have been only occasionally reported (Ballesteros et al, 2009; Bezerra et al, 2008; Consentino, 2004; Greene, 1989; Lara-Ruiz and SrbeckAraujo, 2006; Vaughan et al, 2007), these animals can be
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