Animal Medicine and Surgery Department, Veterinary Faculty, University Complutense of Madrid, Avenida Puerta de Hierro s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
Jaguar Rescue Center, Playa Chiquita, 70403, Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Cahuita, Costa Rica.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2024 Jan;54(4):805-809. doi: 10.1638/2021-0132.
The number of two-toed sloths () has significantly decreased in the last years. Deepening the knowledge of this tropical mammal's reproductive physiology is essential to improve captive breeding within conservation programs for this species. However, several aspects of its reproductive biology remain unexplored and have not been described sufficiently. The aim of this work was to describe the estrous cycle and reproductive physiology of two adult female by vaginal cytology, appearance of the external genitalia, and behavior. Vaginal cytology assay showed that the average duration of the estrous cycle was 15.1 ± 4.53 d. Positive correlations ( < 0.05) were found between the peak presence of superficial cells (estrous phase) and four parameters: aggressive behavior, pursuing behavior, vulvar swelling, and vaginal discharge. This pilot study, conducted on just two animals, forms a basis for a study design that may be employed for a more comprehensive assessment of the two-toed sloth reproductive physiology and behavior.
两趾树懒 () 的数量在过去几年中显著减少。加深对这种热带哺乳动物生殖生理学的了解对于提高该物种保护计划中的圈养繁殖至关重要。然而，其生殖生物学的几个方面仍未得到探索，也没有得到充分描述。本研究的目的是通过阴道细胞学、外生殖器外观和行为来描述两只成年雌性两趾树懒的发情周期和生殖生理学。阴道细胞学检测表明，发情周期的平均持续时间为 15.1±4.53 天。在浅表细胞（发情期）的峰值出现与四个参数之间发现了正相关（<0.05）：攻击行为、追逐行为、外阴肿胀和阴道分泌物。这项仅在两只动物上进行的初步研究为更全面评估两趾树懒的生殖生理学和行为奠定了研究设计的基础。
