Which island is the only home of the pygmy three-toed sloth?

The pygmy three-toed sloth has only one natural home: Isla Escudo de Veraguas.

This tiny sloth, Bradypus pygmaeus, is endemic to a small island off Panama’s Caribbean coast. Isla Escudo de Veraguas is also called Escudo de Veraguas Island, but it should not be confused with Isla Coiba or Caribbean islands such as Isla Mujeres. The species’ extremely restricted range is central to its conservation status.

The pygmy three-toed sloth was first described as a distinct species in 2001. It resembles the brown-throated three-toed sloth but is noticeably smaller. It spends most of its life in trees and is especially associated with the island’s red mangroves, although later surveys found animals farther inland than early counts suggested.

Its isolation probably helped produce its small body size, but the same isolation makes the species vulnerable. A 2012 census counted only 79 animals in the surveyed area, while later work suggested the true population could be several hundred or more. The commonly missed point is that “only home” means the sloth’s entire natural distribution is one Panamanian island, not merely its preferred habitat.