108 Quadrupeds. 
larly in windy weather, it moves with such rapidity as 
to make it quite a misnomer to call it a Sloth. " The 
Sloth," says Mr. Waterton, " in its wild state, spends its 
whole life in the trees, and never leaves them* but 
through force or accident; and what is more extra- 
ordinary, not upon the branches, like the squirrel and 
monkey, hut under them. He moves suspended from the 
branch, he rests suspended from the branch, and he 
sleeps suspended from the branch. Hence his seem- 
ingly bungled composition is at once accounted for ; and 
in lieu of the Sloth leading a painful life, and entailing 
a melancholy existence upon its progeny, it is but fair 
to conclude, that it enjoys life just as much as any other 
animal, and that its extraordinary formation and singu- 
lar habits are but further proofs to engage us to admire 
the wonderful works of Omnipotence.' 1 
The common Sloth has always three toes ; but there 
is another kind, called the Unau, which has only two 
toes, and much shorter fore legs. 
The female Sloth has only one young one at a time, 
which hangs to her breast, and makes a kind of cradle of 
her body, during her journeys from branch to branch ; 
in fact, it appears never to quit her, till it is able to pro- 
vide for itself. When hanging from the branch, she 
hides her young one in her thick, matted hair, which 
resembles in texture and appearance dry withered grass, 
and, indeed, is so like the rough bark and moss on old 
trees, as to render the animal scarcely distinguishable. 
It was formerly asserted, when the Sloth has got posses- 
sion of a tree, it will not descend while a leaf or bud is 
remaining ; and, that in order to obviate the necessity 
of a slow and laborious descent, it suffers itself to fall to 
the ground ; the toughness of its skin and the thickness 
of its hair securing it from any unpleasant consequences. 
This, however, like many other statements regarding 
this much maligned animal, is erroneous ; in the dense 
tropical forests which he inhabits the Sloth has rarely 
any occasion to descend to the earth ; but he takes ad- 
vantage of a windy night, when the branches of the 
trees become interlaced, to make his way with great ease 
from one place to another. 
