First observation on mating and reproductive seasonality in maned sloths Bradypus torquatus (Pilosa: Bradypodidae)

• Published in: Journal of ethology Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 97 - 103
• Main Authors: Dias, Bernardo B, Dias dos Santos, Luis Alberto, Lara-Ruiz, Paula, Cassano, Camila Righetto, Pinder, Laurenz, Chiarello, Adriano G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Japan : Springer Japan 2009; Springer Japan; Springer
• Subjects: Animal Ecology; Animal ethology; Behavioral Sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Bradypodidae; Brazil; breeding season; concentrates; copulation; dry season; Evolutionary Biology; forests; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; lactation; Life Sciences; neonates; pregnancy; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; reproductive behavior; wet season; Zoology; Brazil; Copulation; Xenarthra; Atlantic forest; Reproduction; Endangered species; Human; Forests; Sexual behavior; Male; Breeding behavior; Mating; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Seasonal variation; Atlantic Façade; Observation
• ISSN: 0289-0771; 1439-5444
• DOI: 10.1007/s10164-008-0089-9

Information on mating season is of paramount importance for our understanding of reproductive behavior, yet little is currently known about the breeding season of Xenarhtra as a whole and sloths in particular. A pair of maned sloths was observed copulating in September 2005 in the Atlantic Forest region of south-eastern Brazil. Our studies on mating of the manned sloth as well of other hitherto unpublished records of newborn sloths seen in the wild, together with a review of previous information, indicate that B. torquatus is a seasonal breeder. Infants are born predominantly at the end of the wet season and beginning of the dry season (February-April), and copulation concentrates in the late dry and early wet seasons (August-October). This strategy allows for the energy-demanding gestation and lactation to take place during the less stressful period of the year.