Sloths
Sloths are tree dwelling mammals like monkeys, but they are not active as monkeys. They are known for their slow movement. Their hanging on trees displays that the sloth’s life is more than a symbol of leisure and slow pace. They are perfectly adapted to their environment with their complex anatomy.
They belong to the order Pilosa in which anteaters and Armadilos fall with them.
Scientific Classification
Kingdom | Animalia |
Phylum | Chordata |
Class | Mammalia |
Order | Perissodactyla |
Family | Equidae |
Genus | Equus |
Types of Sloth
There were 8 families of sloths in the Ice Age, out of which only 2 are remaining today. These two families comprise six extant species of sloth. The family Bradypodidae consists of 4 species of three-toed sloths, while the second family, Choloipodidae, comprises 2 species of two-toed sloths.
6 Extant Sloth Species
Species | Description |
Pygmy three-toed sloth (Bradypus pygmaeus) | They are the small sized sloths first identified in 2001. They are natives of Panama and similar to brown-throated sloths. |
Maned sloth (Bradypus torquatus) | It is a rare species of sloth found in the Atlantic forest of Brazil. They are pale brown to grey. As shown by the name, they have black hair around the neck. |
Pale-throated sloth (Bradypus tridactylus) | They are found in northern South America. They have a bright yellow face and mottled fur. Their neck is white in color, exception to other species. |
Brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) | As shown by the name, they are brown with a white forehead. They are found in the South America. |
Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) | They are larger than Bradypus and have a pig-like snout. They are found in northern South America. |
Hoffman’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) | They are similar to their counterparts Choloepus didactylus, but with darker snouts, hands, and feet. They are found in Central and South America. |
Exception: Most mammals have seven neck vertebrae, while three-toed sloths have nine neck vertebrae, which allow them to rotate their head through 270° like an owl.
Physical Characteristics
Size and weight: Size varies among the species. On average, they are 2 to 2.5 feet long and 8 to 17 pounds in weight. Two-toed sloths are slightly larger than their three-toed cousins.
Speed: Sloths are the slowest animals to move, with a speed of 0.27 kilometers per hour when threatened; otherwise as slowly as possible.
Body and Tail: They are round-headed mammals with hairy bodies, dark eyes, small ears, and a stubby tail. They have a permanent smile on their face but with sad-looking eyes. Their tail is 6-7 cm long and helps them in pooping.
Limbs and Claws: The forelimbs of Bradypus are 50 percent longer than their hind limbs. They have three sharp claws at the end of four limbs. Choloepus has two claws at the end of the forelimbs. They also have three claws but in hind limbs.
Fur and coat coloration: Sloths are shaggy animals. Their fur ranges from brown to grey, covering a dense black and white underfur.
Distribution and Habitat
These slow animals are distributed throughout Central and South America, mainly Amazon forest, Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. They are staying high in the canopy of tropical rainforests. They require warm and humid conditions, so they live within 17° of these regions.
Lifestyle: Two-toed sloths hang horizontally to the trees, while their three-toed cousins sit in the fork of tree branches in the lush green rainforests of South and North America.
Diet and Digestion
The sloths are often known as folivores (leaf eaters). They mostly eat on leaves but consume invertebrates, and reptiles live on the trees. Their metabolism rate is as slow, as it takes 30 days to digest a leaf. Their stomach is four-chambered, which gradually processes and digests the food.
As the metabolism is slow, they come down from trees once a week to relieve themselves. They constantly have a full stomach, which comprises about thirty percent of their body weight. A full stomach sometimes leads to death.
Sleeping hours: These slow creatures can sleep for fifteen to twenty hours a day. They are nocturnal, meaning that they are mostly active during the night. They can sleep even hanging to the trees. Their claws are strongly gripped around trees.
Why Sloths Are Slow?
The slow movements of sloths depend on their diet adaptations. They feed on leaves which are poor in nutrients. Poor nutrition makes the metabolic rate slow which is responsible for their crawling on trees.
Behavioral Adaptations
Social Behavior
Globally, we face quarantine for two years, but these sluggish creatures remain in quarantine for their whole life. They are solitary and come across each other only for mating or mothers for rearing their young.
Swimming
Here is an amazing fact about these chill creatures. They are good swimmers. They cannot stand or walk on the ground but quickly swim in the water. Nature designed their body so that they can swim three times faster than their actual speed on land. The reason
Camouflage
Wait! Sloths are a host of algae. Yes, Sloth hairs facilitate the growth of algae and fungi. The green color that algae give them is also helpful in their camouflage with the surroundings.
The survival strategy of these chill creatures is camouflage. They blend with the green leaves to avoid predators such as jaguars and hawks.
Sloths and Moths
Sloths are known to be solitary, but they have an ecosystem of their own. They are symbiotic with algae, fungi, moths, and insects. These moths, in return, clean the sloth’s eyes and sucks moisture from their body. Three-fingered toes carry more moths than two-fingered sloths.
“Without the sloth, these moths can’t exist.”
These living things were discovered in 2014 and are unique only to sloths. A sloth can bear up to 900 moths and beetles in its hair at the spot.
Reproduction and Parenting
Sloths reach sexual maturity at two to four years. When male sloth reaches sexual maturity, a speculum arises on their back. It is a bright-colored fur with a black stripe in the center. It is the characteristics that distinguish the male from female sloths.
A gestation period is between six to twelve months. After one week of birth, baby sloths begin to sample leaves from the mother’s mouth as well as drink milk. They stay with their mothers for more than a year and learn essential skills that are required to survive in the wild.
Mortality and Lifespan
The Lifespan of sloths is recorded as more than 40 years in the wild. But the exact age of these creatures is still unknown. In captivity, they cannot survive more than 20 years due to improper environment.
Ecological Importance
The sloths are umbrella species and have an unexplored biodiversity in it. These creepy and crawly bios of sloths are cures for many diseases like cancer and parasites. As they also feed on fruits, their movement helps in the dispersal of seeds leading to biodiversity.
Deforestation and illegal trafficking are a danger to their habitats. Protect the sloths because protection of sloths is the protection of South America’s rainforests.
Conservation Status and Efforts
According to the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
- Pygmy three-toed sloths are listed as critically endangered, while maned sloths are listed as vulnerable species.
- The other four species are least concerned.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is working with the Brazilian government on the Amazon Region Protected Areas project (ARPA), the world’s largest conservation project since 2003. The initiative aims to protect rainforests that are hubs of sloths and many other animals. Costa Rica declared sloths as their national symbols to conserve them.
Sloth Fun Fact
- These slow-paced animals are good swimmers.
- Two-toed sloths have three toes on hind limbs.
- They poop only once per week.
- Sloths are three times stronger than us.
One of the extinct sloth species, giant ground sloths, were as large as elephants, and other extinct species were as long as giraffes.
Cultural Value
We often hear stories about how “slow and steady wins the race,” but we easily forget all these lessons in the modern age. Sloths, with their calm nature for millions of years, prove that you don’t have to be haste to make it.
On the contrary, sloth is one of the seven deadly sins in the Catholic teachings. But the question is, why a sin? The answer is that they defined sloth as a failure to do things that one should have to do. For example, a person is not helping the needy and poor, though he is capable.
FAQs- Frequently Asked Questions
Learn More About Sloths
On this page, you are invited to explore our articles about the intriguing behaviors of sloths.
These articles answer common questions about sloths, including their diet, solitary lifestyle, movement patterns, and interactions with their environment and other species.
Scroll down to discover some of the unique traits of sloths and understand why they behave the way they do.
Hoffman’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni)
Introduction to Hoffman’s Two-Toed Sloth Hoffman’s Two-Toed Sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) is an extraordinary animal, renowned as one of the slowest-moving mammals on the planet. Native to the dense tropical rainforests of Central and South America,
Linnaeus’s Two-Toed Sloth (Choloepus didactylus)
Introduction to Linnaeus’s Two-Toed Sloth Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus), also known as the Southern two-toed sloth, is one of nature’s slowest yet most fascinating creatures. Found in the dense rainforests of northern South America,
Brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus)
Introduction to Brown-throated sloth Sloths are fascinating creatures known for their slow movements, unique appearance, and laid-back lifestyles. Found mainly in the rainforests of Central and South America, these arboreal animals spend most of their
Pale-throated sloth (Bradypus tridactylus)
Introduction to Pale-throated sloth Sloths are fascinating creatures that have captured the imagination of people worldwide due to their slow movements and relaxed lifestyles. Found in the dense rainforests of Central and South America, sloths
Maned sloth (Bradypus torquatus)
Introduction to Maned sloth Sloths are some of the most fascinating creatures in the animal kingdom. Known for their slow movements and unique lifestyles, these gentle mammals are often found hanging upside down in the
Pygmy three-toed sloth (Bradypus pygmaeus)
Introduction to Pygmy three-toed sloth Sloths are fascinating creatures known for their slow movements, unique behaviors, and endearing appearances. These gentle mammals are typically found in the rainforests of Central and South America, spending most