(Fig. 2). The female juvenile moved continuously northwards in
what seems to be a dispersal movement (Fig. 2). Areas of more
intensive use (kernel contours) corresponded to groves or individual
trees used repeatedly by the sloths (Fig. 3). These include
Ficus clusiaefolia, Inga edulis, Tapirira guianensis, Cecropia hololeuca,
Ocotea pretiosa and one individual from the Olacaceae Family covered
by an unusually high number of vines. Leaves of all these
species were consumed by maned sloths, except the Olacaceae
tree and the vines. The kernels in cabrucas indicated that sloths
are using this habitat both for resting and for feeding. In addition
to the two tagged juveniles, the mother gave birth to two
other infants during the study. One was seen when the adult
female was first tagged, in October 2004, and the second when
the mother was last captured for removal of the radio collar in
February 2008. Besides the tagged individuals, five opportunistic
observations of other maned sloths were recorded in the study
cabruca or in adjacent areas, two of which within areas of cabruca
(Fig. 2).
The frequency with which the three sloths were located in
each vegetation type was significantly different from expected
(Chi-square goodness-of-fit test; 2 = 111.517; d.f. = 3; p < 0.0001).
The residuals showed that swamp/pastures and early secondary
forests were used less than expected, cabrucas were used more
than expected and the late secondary forests were used according
to their availability within the home range’s area (Table 2).
Similarly, the frequency of fixes differed significantly from the
expected value based on availability of habitat in the buffer area
(Chi-square goodness-of-fit test; 2 = 119.001; d.f. = 3; p < 0.0001)
and the residuals showed the same pattern found in the previous
analysis (Table 2).
Sloths were observed feeding on leaves of six tree species from
cabrucas and on 11 plant species (10 trees and one vine) from
mature forests at the Ecoparque de Una (Table 3). Five of the 10 tree
species found in mature forests and four of the six species found in
cabrucas at Una have also been previously recorded in other cabruca