Direct Threats
Trafficking
The popularity of the sloth among humans has subjected it to hunting for ownership of the animal by individuals or for viewing in zoos (Animal Welfare Institute 2020).
Bush Meat
Sloths are sometimes hunted and consumed as bush meat by fishermen when they do not catch enough fish to sustain themselves (bioGraphic 2018).
Threats to the Habitat
Deforestation
Deforestation on Escudo manifests itself in logging of the mangroves (AWI 2020), for both local and international use. Timber is extracted for temporary shelter and cooking, as well as illegally poached in order to be exported. Since sloths eat the mangrove leaves, the loss of habitat also means the loss of their food source (bioGraphic 2018).
Tourism
Tourism on the island is a major culprit of pollution, as tourists litter upon the protected lands. Miambiente, the National Environmental Authority, requires a permit for tourism, but it lacks the funds to monitor destructive activities (EDGE 2017).
Fishing
Fishing and turtle hunting is also degrading the sloth's habitat through harmful practices such as disposal of nets and tools into the ocean (EDGE 2017).
Genetic diversity
Since the population of pygmy sloths is small, there is low genetic diversity (EDGE 2017). This is an obstacle to reproduction.
fragmentation
Tree felling, which is the logging of individual trees, causes fragmentation of the sloth's habitat. This limits the sloth's movement from tree to tree in the forest canopy (bioGraphic 2018).
Invasive species
Because the animal must now travel by ground to move from tree to tree, it is the target of predators, including the feral cat (bioGraphic 2018), which is a common invasive species globally.
climate change
Rising temperatures associated with climate change are a threat because the sloth's habitat is basically right above the ocean. Rising temperatures are also a threat because this means that the sloth must regulate its body temperature. Since this animal has an extremely slow metabolism, temperature regulation puts a strain on the energy that it can produce, which threatens its existence. However, this is not necessarily a major concern at the moment since the priority is just sustaining the current population in the near future (National Geographic 2018).
PC:Suzi Eszterhas, bioGraphic