(No) Need for Speed

Sloths mostly eat leaves that do not give them a lot of energy. So these animals are very slow-moving and can spend hours hanging from a branching without any movement. They move climb trees at 6-8 ft per minute and move on ground at maximum of 3 ft per minute! Even their digestive system is very slow. Some food items take a whole month to digest. Their slow metabolism also helps sloths survive falls from high branches that would kill off most animals.

Who Needs a Bath?

Sloths have grooved hair on their body which is the perfect breeding ground for algae. But, even though we may cringe at the thought, the sloth sees the algae more as a bit of a nibble than dirt. So, who needs a bath when you have snack growing on your body? The greening algae also provide the sloths with the perfect camouflage against predators. Their fur is curved from the belly towards the back to drain off rainwater as they hang from branches.

… But I don’t mind a swim!

While a sloth is very slow on the ground, it is a powerful swimmer. Sometimes a sloth may drop into a river from the tree and cross it with confident breaststrokes!

Meet The Claw of Doom!

Sloths have really powerful claws that grip the branches of the tree like a safety hook. In fact, their grip is so strong sometimes a sloth remains hanging from a branch even after it dies!

The Toe of Distinction

Now there are two families of sloths: the Two Toed and the Three Toed. The two toed sloths move faster. But three toed sloths have an extra neck vertebra which allows them to rotate their heads 270 degrees.

The Sloth Diet

Sloths usually eat leaves and an occasional fruit if it chances upon one. Due this low calorie, low nutrition diet the sloth has only about 25 percent muscle mass compared to mammals its size. This helps them hang from the trees longer.

Sleepyheads of the Jungle

Sloths’ ‘green diet’ gives them very little energy. Running away from danger drains a lot of their energy. That’s why sloths spend from 15 to 18 hours a day sleeping.