Some Facts on Sloths

To most people, sloths are easily identifiable creatures. Many people find them endearing due to their slow nature and vulnerability. Unfortunately, even with sloths’ popularity, they are not immune to being threatened by a variety of problems. There are various types of sloths, such as two-toed or three-toed sloths. While these sloths have physical differences as their names imply, there are also other slight differences between them, such as what their diets consist of. Learn more about these fascinating creatures and what you can do to help them continue to survive.

Habitat

Sloths are native to Central and South America, dwelling in the trees of tropical rainforests. They spend the majority of their lives in the trees, slowly moving from one to the other. Sloths can cover about 40 yards per day traveling through the trees - that’s less than half a football field!

Lifestyle

In order to survive, three-toed sloths consume vegetation, such as leaves, twigs, and buds from the trees they travel throughout their lives. Other types of sloths, such as the two-toed sloths, also eat other, more diverse foods, such as insects, lizards, or fruit. Part of the reason why sloths barely move is that they spend 15 to 20 hours sleeping each day; they have incredibly slow metabolisms. However, even though they’re notoriously slow, sloths are fantastic swimmers.

Sloths are very solitary animals, only leaving the trees about once a week to get rid of waste. They will also leave trees to find a mate or move to a place with more food, but doing so puts them at an incredible risk from their natural predators.

Threats

Since sloths are such mild creatures, they can be affected by many different threats. Sloths have an array of natural predators, mainly the harpy eagle, though when they head to the ground once a week, they risk being preyed upon by other predators, such as ocelots. If a sloth is caught by a predator, they’ll fight back, using their claws and shrieking, but it’s difficult for them to get away.

Another large threat to sloths is deforestation and poaching. As humans encroach on their territories, it’s difficult for sloths to successfully move to new homes. We need to be more aware of the impact we have on these creatures.

Popular culture

In the last few years, sloths have achieved greater popularity as people learn more about them. Many people feel especially sympathetic toward these creatures, due to their incredible vulnerability to a variety of threats. Sloths have even been the subject of a few memes on the internet!

How to help

If you want to help ensure the survival of all kinds of sloths, particularly the pygmy three-toed sloth (which is considered critically endangered), work to raise awareness of these animals and their plight, along with donating to causes that help sustain their populations.