10 Quirky Facts About Sloths

Sloths

Facts About Sloths
12 Jun, 2024

Sloths are tree-dwelling mammals mostly found in the tropical forests of Central and South America. Do you know that sloths spend 90% of their lives hanging upside down? 

There are many lesser-known facts about sloths that will amaze you. Join us on an immersive journey to unfold the extraordinary world of sloths, uncovering the facts about sloths and their ecological significance.

10 Quirky Facts About Sloths 

1: Sloths Can Rotate Their Heads Almost 270 Degrees

The three additional neck vertebrae near the base of the neck in sloths is an intriguing anatomical feature. The extra vertebrae give sloths a broader range of motion in their heads, allowing them to swivel their necks up to 270 degrees in either direction. 

Specifically, three-toed sloths boast 8-9 neck vertebrae, facilitating this impressive head rotation capability. However, two-toed sloths lack such ability.

2: There Are Two Types of Sloths — The Two-toed and The Three-toed Sloths

Sloths are of two types: two-toed sloths and three-toed sloths. These types are distinguished not only by their number of claws but also by facial characteristics. 

  • Two-toed sloths are distinguished by their large eyes and light-tousled coat. Typically, these sloths possess six or seven vertebrae and are slightly larger in body size. They are characterized by a dense layer of long, grayish-brown hair, which often serves as a place for algae growth.
  • Three-toed sloths are recognizable by their prominent dark facial markings, which give the impression of a perpetual smile. They typically have eight or nine vertebrae and are characterized by outer hairs that are cracked transversely.

3: Sloths Spend Most of Their Lives Hanging in Trees

Sloths are arboreal creatures. They spend 90% of their lives in tree canopies, hanging upside down and using their long, curved claws to hold the tree trunk. Most sloths prefer trees for all their daily activities, like feeding, sleeping, and mating. 

Inhabiting trees also provide natural protection from predators like jaguars and eagles. Despite this tree-dwelling lifestyle, sloths come to the ground approximately once a week in search of food or a mate. 

4: Sloths Move More Quickly in Water Than They Do on Land

In addition to their arboreal lifestyle, sloths exhibit a remarkable ability–they are proficient swimmers. One of the amazing facts about sloths is that they can move through water three times faster than on land. Their fur is highly water-resistant, making it easy for them to swim efficiently. 

Three-toed sloths can rotate their heads up to 270 degrees and keep their noses above water while swimming. In fact, sloths love to eat leaves, which creates a lot of gas in their stomachs, helping them to easily float and quickly move inside the water.

5: Sloths Move So Slowly That Algae Can Grow on Their Fur, Providing Camouflage

Sloths’ sluggish nature stems from their low metabolic activity. This slow movement leads to the growth of blue-green algae on their fur, seamlessly blending with the color of leaves. Consequently, sloths can camouflage themselves with the leafy hues of trees, providing an effective means to evade predators.

6: A Sloth May Require 30 Days to Fully Digest Just One Leaf

Sloths have the lowest metabolic rate among mammals, which leads to slow digestion. Their diet primarily consists of rubbery-textured tree leaves, which pose a challenge for digestion. So, they require 30 days to fully digest one leaf. 

Sloths have a permanently full four-chambered stomach, occupying up to 30% of their body mass. Due to their slow digestion and full stomachs, sloths have limited daily food intake capabilities.

7: Sloths Only Defecate About Once a Week

Due to their remarkably slow digestion, sloths typically defecate only once a week. Upon excretion, they shed approximately one-third of their body weight. They can easily poop while hanging upside down on the tree. As they have a sedentary lifestyle, they slowly get down the tree to defecate or urinate. After defecation, their stomachs noticeably flatten as the weight of waste is relieved. 

8: Sloth Tails Are Only About 2.5 Inches Long

Millions of years ago, giant ground sloths existed, akin in size to elephants. They were nearly 20 feet long from nose to tail. In contrast, modern-day three-toed sloths have smaller tails, and the length from head to tail is 2.5 feet maximum. Among these species, the brown-throated sloth shares a similar size profile with the three-toed sloths of today.

9: Sloths Are About Three Times Stronger Than Humans

Despite having 30% less muscle mass than similar-sized mammals, sloths are three times stronger than the average human. Their formidable muscular arrangement enables them to endure the force of a jaguar trying to attack them. 

Due to their impressive strength from birth, sloths are pull-up world champions. The tendons in their hands and feet allow sloths to hang upside-down on tree branches for long hours without wasting energy. This mechanism also allows sloths to sleep while hanging upside down. 

10: Sloths Spend up to 20 Hours a Day Sleeping

Among all these facts about sloths, another is that they spend much of their time remaining static on branches for up to 20 hours daily. Due to their slow metabolism and low-energy diet, sloths can sometimes sleep for up to 20 hours, which allows them to conserve energy for other essential activities like finding food, moving down for defecation, etc.

Conclusion

Sloths are solitary creatures. They don’t like to be touched; they use their razor-sharp teeth and claws against whoever tries to touch them. Despite their standoffish nature, the above-discussed facts about sloths enable us to understand that sloths, as mammals, possess unique features. From their exceptional ability to rotate their heads up to 270 degrees to their leisurely 30-day digestion process and even their surprising strength relative to humans, sloths boast a myriad of features to overwhelm us.

FAQs

What are 5 interesting facts about sloths?

1. Sloths can rotate their heads almost 270 degrees.
2. Sloths move more quickly in water than they do on land.
3. Sloths move so slowly that algae can grow on their fur, providing camouflage.
4. Sloth tails are only about 2.5 inches long
5. Sloths spend up to 20 hours a day sleeping.

Are sloths lazy or slow?

Sloths are not lazy but are slow in their movement. They can hardly walk up to 41 yards in a day, half the distance from a football field. However, they are good swimmers and can move through water three times faster than on land.

How fast is a sloth?

Being sluggish, a sloth can walk at a speed of 0.17 mph.

How long does a sloth live?

On average, a two-toed sloth can live for 20 years, whereas a three-toed sloth can live for 25-30 years.

How old is the oldest sloth?

The male Linne’s two-toed sloth is the oldest sloth, about 54 years old.

What country has sloths?

Sloths are mostly found in the trees of tropical rainforests of Central America and northern South America, including parts of Brazil and Peru.

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