In The Same Tree | November 2025
True to form, Debbie has been in the same tree as usual, displaying the same behaviours of resting and curling up, so no remarkable changes for her!
Her only break from routine seemed to be when she wandered over to a tree on the beach, which used to be a common hangout spot for Mango and Maracuya, three-fingered sloths we used to monitor for the Urban Sloth Project in the same area. This is the tree where the team found the poop in the tree trunk- an unusual find that makes us think a lazy sloth couldn’t be bothered to make the trip all the way to the ground. Or could there be a scientific explanation for this? Could the ‘lazy’ sloth be Debbie?
Poop collection time!
Two Sloths… In The Same Tree
There are currently two youngsters sharing Debbie’s home range, and we still can’t be sure which one is actually hers. Both juveniles are frequently spotted moving through the same trees she uses, sometimes even settling into her favourite resting spots.
Can you spot the two sloths?
This overlap makes it tricky to determine which youngster is hers! The team hopes to fit Debbie’s actual offspring with a lightweight tracking collar, which would allow us to monitor their growth and independence more closely. For now, though, we’re relying on behaviour, proximity, and careful observation, but without genetics we just can’t be sure!
Could this be Mel?
One particularly fascinating thing about Debbie is that she hasn’t dispersed from her original area after raising Mel, and neither has Mel! In most cases, adult sloths gradually move away from their original range, leaving behind their babies in the familiar territory they were raised in, and avoiding competition for food and space. But Debbie and baby Mel continue to share the same cluster of trees, often travelling through the canopy only a few metres apart. This lingering closeness is unusual and has really caught the team’s attention.
We’re not yet sure whether this behaviour represents a natural but rarely observed variation in sloth family dynamics, or whether it might be influenced by the highly fragmented landscape Debbie lives in, where suitable habitat is limited. Whatever the reason, Debbie is giving us a valuable opportunity to learn more about how sloths adjust their movements and family relationships in challenging environments.
