So like most people, I have an obsession with sloths. Something about their wide- eyed faces makes me just burst out in cuteness overload. So from my knowledge, here are some interesting facts about sloths that I bet you didn't know.
1. There Are Six Different Sloths
There are two different types of sloths, two-toed and three-toed. However, there are six species:
Pygmy three-toed sloth (Bradypus pygmaeus)
Maned sloth (Bradypus torquatus)
Pale-throated sloth (Bradypus tridactylus)
Brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus)
Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth(Choloepus didactylus)
Hoffman’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni)
The pygmy sloth is critically endangered.
2. Sloths Are The Slowest Mammal On Earth
Sloths have an extremely low metabolic rate and sloths travel no farther than 125 feet a day. They move slowly to conserve energy.
3. They Love To Swim!
Large male sloths can swim more than 25 feet per minute. Their rear legs kick and long forelimbs swing as far wide as their tail. They can also float on their bellies, following the current of a river or stream.
4. Sloths Have A Terrible Diet.
Sloths are classified as folivores which means most of their diet consists of leaves. Some two-toed sloths have been documented as eating insects, small reptiles, and birds as a small supplement to their diets.
The tough leaves in a sloth's diet are difficult to digest. Sloths have a four-part stomach that slowly digests the leaves with bacteria. It can take up to a month for a sloth to digest one meal. Their leafy diet isn't very nutritious though, so they don't get much energy from it.
5. Sloths Can Turn Green.
Sloths hair is long and coarse, and they move so slowly that algae and fungi have enough time to grow on the animal as they hang from the trees. This helps them camouflage from predators.
6. Sloths And Moths Are Besties.
There is actually a symbiotic relationship between sloths and moths.
Once a week, sloths slowly descend from trees to poop on the ground. When a sloth poops on the ground, the adult female moths leave the mammal to lay their eggs in the feces.
The eggs eventually hatch and the moth larvae feed on the poop. Once they become adults, they fly up into the trees to nestle in a sloth's fur.
7.Sloths Can Turn Their Necks Up To 270 Degrees.
They can move around in either direction because they have three extra cervical vertebrae than other mammals.
8. Only One Baby Per Year.
Female sloths only give birth once a year. They can only have one sloth at a time. Having twins is extremely rare, and if a mother is pregnant with twins they only keep one for survival reasons.
But who would abandon these cuties?
