What Are Sloths?
Sloths are mammals that live in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. They are related to anteaters. Unlike anteaters that live on the ground, sloths spend most of their lives hanging in the trees.
What Do Sloths Eat and Drink?
Sloths are omnivores. They prefer to eat buds, blossoms, leaves, and
tender shoots from trees but will eat insects, small lizards, and dead
animals as well. Since sloths have slow metabolisms, they don't need a
lot of food or water throughout the day.
How Do Sloths Protect Themselves?
Sloths aren't aggressive animals and depend on camouflage to protect
themselves from jaguars, eagles, and humans. Fungus grows on sloths'
fur giving sloths their green color. That green color helps sloths
blend into the leaves of trees.
Types of Sloths
There are two main types of sloths in the world. They are either
a Choloepus or a Bradypus sloth.
All sloths have three toes on their back paws but the
Choloepus has two toes on their front paws and the
Bradypus has three.
Thalassocnus
Millions of years ago, there was a species of sloth called Thalassocnus. Thalassocnus was an unusual species... they are the only known aquatic species of sloth to have existed. Scientists believe Thalassocnus walked along the seafloor, digging up seaweed and seagrass to eat with their claws. They also had long tails to help them swim and dive.
Endangered Species
Two species of sloths... the maned and the pygmy... are critically
endangered, meaning they will become extinct if nothing is done about
it. Deforestation and urbanization are the main threats to
sloths. Other threats include natural predators (eagles and jaguars),
hunters, poachers, and animal traffickers.
These are just a few fun facts about sloths. To learn more fun facts
about sloths, you can watch this Youtube video by Science Insider:
Did you enjoy learning new facts about sloths? If so, check out these
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