POSTCARD N.62 - Costa Rica

Postcrossing postcard sent on the 4th January; received on the 20th January
Postcard image: Perezosos (Sloths)
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Sloths. Oh how I would love to photograph them in the wild, or at the very least, see them in the wild, just as my daughter Marta has, during her trip to Costa Rica. Thanks a lot Marta, for the beautiful card. Dad loved it and it is a great addition to the collection since it represents another entry into the list of countries.

Sloths... interesting creatures... it is amazing how they seem to live their life in stop motion... always hanging from a branch,  moving so slowly it is tiring just to observe them.

According to the Wikipedia, there is a total of 6 species, distributed by two genera whose main differentiating feature is the existence of 2 (genus Choloepus) or 3 (genus Bradypus) toes in the forelimb.

Sloths are endemic to the rainforests of Central and South America and are a close relative of another strange creature, the anteater.

While two-toed sloths are omnivorous, their 3 toed cousins are almost exclusively vegan :-) feeding on leaves from a very reduced number of tree species.

Another curious fact abouth sloths is that although they are slow on land, they are pretty good swimmers, and I've seen proof of this on a documentary on tv.

Marta used a self-sticking ATM label, first issued on May 2018, featuring the photograph of a  Red Legged Honey creeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus)  to mail the postcard to Portugal.

The machine applied cancellation is almost illegible and is upside down. Still, I managed to read the place where the card was mailed from: the town of Quepos, in Punta Arenas.