No creature in the animal kingdom is as chill as the tree-dwelling sloth. They spend their days hanging from branches, munching on leaves, sleeping and even going for the occasional swim. What's not to love?
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All Sloths Have Three Toes
Though sloths are considered either two-toed or three-toed, all sloths have three toes on their hind limbs. The difference is actually in the forelimbs, on which the two-toed sloth has two fingers. The discrepancy comes from the Spanish-to-English translation of two-toed sloth, "Perezoso de Dos Dedos." "Dedos" means "fingers" but was mistranslated to "toes."
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Their Ancestors Were Huge
Millions of years ago, some ancestors of today's sloths were the size of elephants. Ground sloths, as they are called, used to roam the earth and graze from the treetops. They are believed to have once roamed across South and North America.
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They Move Slowly on Land But Are Good Swimmers
Sloths are considered the slowest mammals on the planet. But they are excellent swimmers and can move three times as fast in water than on land. Sloths are efficient swimmers thanks to their long arms.
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They Have Funny Bathroom Habits
Sloths must climb out of their protective tree habitats and come close to the ground to use the bathroom. Once a week, they climb down the trunks of their tree homes to the same spot, grip the tree and defecate. Because they're creatures of habit, this is their most vulnerable time as they are very susceptible to predators.
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They Have a Super Strong Grip
Sloths have adapted very long and strong claws with a grip that can stay hanging onto tree branches even while the animal is sleeping. In fact, some sloths have been found to have died while still hanging by their claws.
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Their Fur Contains an Ecosystem
Sloths move so slowly that algae grows on their fur, turning some sloths a fuzzy green color. But did you know their fur is also home to a whole host of other creatures? Sloths are covered in ticks, beetles, moths, mites and hundreds of other bugs.
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They Have Three Main Predators
Besides the danger that humans can exert on the habitats of sloths, they also have to watch out for jaguars, snakes and eagles. Luckily, their slow-moving nature and the green algae they grow on their fur acts to camouflage them from predators. If they are confronted, they defend themselves by lashing out with their claws.
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They Have a Limited Diet
Sloths only eat leaves and — sparingly — fruit, which leaves them with very little nutrition and calories for energy. One of the reasons the sloth moves so slowly is that it needs to conserve the limited energy they get from their diets. They have a very slow metabolic rate — about half the normal rate of other mammals their size.
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They Have Flexible Heads
Sloths spend most of their lives hanging upside down from the treetops. Because it's not always easy to see when you're upside down, some species of sloth — mainly the pygmy three-toed sloth — have evolved the ability to twist their necks and turn their heads almost 360 degrees.
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They Don't Sleep All Day
There is a misconception that sloths spend most of their lives sleeping. In fact, new research shows that wild sloths only spend about 10 hours of their day asleep, not 20 hours as was previously thought. It's the captive sloths that tend to spend more time sleeping.
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