The national animal of Costa Rica is the sloth. Sloths are iconic animals in this part of the world and are instantly recognizable to people all over the world. They are important national symbols to the people of Costa Rica and they help to promote tourism as well as conservation efforts.
Sloths are more or less universally beloved.
This is just as true in Costa Rica as it is anywhere else, and so they have become important emblems of the country on a more fundamental level.
There are as many as six extant species of sloth in two distinct genera.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Costa Rica?
The national animal of Costa Rica is the sloth.
Of the six extant species that live today, two are found in Costa Rica: the two-toed and three-toed sloths.
Both of these are considered to be the national animal of Costa Rica.
Sloths in general are what is called a neotropical group, one of eight biographical areas on Earth.
They are xenarthan mammals, a major clade of mammals found in the Americas.
They are most noted for their very slow movement, they spend the majority of their lives upside down in trees in tropical rainforests.
Their closest living relative is the anteater, which goes to show how relatively evolutionarily isolated they are, since they do not really bear a great deal of obvious resemblance to anteaters.
The two-toed sloth is one of the Costa Rican species.
They are heavily built and demonstrate the slow movement of sloths in general.
As the name suggests their forefeet have two toes with long, curved claws.
They have a longer snout than their three-toed cousins, as well as being larger in size alongside a couple of other small differences.
They inhabit tropical rainforests anywhere from sea level to as high as 10,800 feet.
They are generally found in the canopy, though they can sometimes be found on the ground travelling between trees.
They have a very low energy diet of leaves.
The brown-throated sloth is the particular species of three-toed sloth that is found in Costa Rica.
Males are around 17 to 31 inches in body length with a short tail.
They weigh anywhere from 5 to 13 pounds, and there is not a great deal of sexual dimorphism.
They have a rounded head with a blunt nose, unlike the two-toed sloths.
They, too, inhabit the high canopy of the trees and mostly eat leaves.
Why is the sloth the national animal of Costa Rica?
The sloth is the national animal of Costa Rica for a few different reasons.
On the one hand, it is simply, as mentioned, a beloved national symbol which people of Costa Rica feel is an embodiment of Costa Rican natural beauty.
Costa Rica is a highly tropical country with many rainforests and similar environments, exactly the kind of habitats sloths like to live in.
Thus, the animal is an embodiment of Costa Rican geography.
On the other hand, they are seen also as symbols of Costa Rican values.
They are free and relaxed creatures that don’t rush through life, at least from our perspective.
This is, to some Costa Ricans, an important lesson we could also learn.
Most sloths, fortunately, are not under any immediate danger of extinction; most are listed as of least concern by the IUCN Red List.
Nonetheless, there are many threats to their continued existence such as deforestation and by making the sloth the national animal, the Costa Rican government hopes to bring greater attention to these existential problems.
The desire to protect these vital natural habitats is a very important issue for Costa Rican people.
Why are sloths so slow and lazy?
It’s important to realize that the word “lazy” is our word—sloths are not “lazy” in any real sense.
They do what they need to do to survive and they do it surprisingly well.
The main reason that sloths have such slow, sluggish movement is that they have an extremely low metabolic rate.
They eat and digest extremely slowly, so their movement reflects that.
The other reason is one of camouflage.
Sloths are much better camouflaged from potential predators when they move slowly, as they are known to be preyed on by eagles and even smaller cats like ocelots in the trees.
How long do sloths live?
It does naturally depend on the species in question, but overall sloths generally live on average for close to twenty years in the right conditions.
That said, there have been relatively few studies on sloths on this question, so it’s difficult to say with much accuracy.
One individual sloth was recorded to have lived for 43 years before it died, so they may live much longer than this commonly in the wild.
Some sloth species live longer than others, but as far as the data we presently have suggests, on average sloths live for around 20 to 30 years.
It’s easy to see why sloths have become so universally admired by humans.
They are simply adorable and beautiful at the same time, and embody a kind of relaxed, gentle approach to life that many of us could benefit from.
In Costa Rica, then, the two-toed and three-toed sloths have become vitally important national symbols and no doubt they have always played an important part in the folklore of local people.