Although resource specialization occurs along a continuum, species are often defined as either specialists or
generalists. In general, specialists are more prone to extinction than generalists and, thus, are often the first species
to be lost when habitats are modified. The two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) and the three-toed sloth (Bradypus
variegatus) are arboreal herbivores distributed across the Neotropics. The two-toed sloth is considered a generalist
while the three-toed sloth is more specialized. Both species inhabit shade-grown agro-ecosystems but, at least at one
study site, only the two-toed sloth was viable. To quantify specialization in sloth species and explore how it influences
population viability, we characterized the resource use for 68 adult and 12 subadult sloths across 3 y. The two-toed
sloth used 14 tree species relatively uniformly across habitats, while the three-toed sloth largely depended on only
two species of tree regardless of habitat type. Both species selected for patches of intact tropical forest, strongly avoided
monocultures regardless of spatial scale and generally used cocoa similarly in proportion to availability. However, the
sloth species differed in their use of cattle pastures, with the two-toed sloth selecting for pastures and the three-toed
sloth avoiding them. Overall, the two-toed sloth exhibited greater plasticity in tree and habitat use, which is likely
contributing to its enhanced resilience within this modified agro-ecosystem.