50 Chill Facts About Sloths | Legacy Facts

# The scientific name for the three-toes sloth is Bradypus is a Greek word which means "slow feet."

# Sloths are a mammal of medium size. The two-toed sloth and the three-toed sloth are two types of sloth, and they are classified into six different species.

# All sloths actually have three toes but there are only two fingers in the two-toed sloth.

# Sloths are tree-dwelling animals that can be found in the Central and South American jungles.

# The bodies of sloths measure usually between 58 and 68 centimeters (23 to 27 inches).

# Sloths' weighs from 4 to 8 kilograms (9 to 17.5 pounds).

# Sloths are able to extend their tongues out of their mouths 25 to 30 centimeters or 10 to 12 inches.

# Three-toed sloths have a highly flexible neck, allowing head rotation in both directions for 270 degrees.

# Sloths mostly consume the Cecropia tree's buds, new shoots, fruits, and leaves. In addition, some two-toed sloths eat insects, small reptiles, and birds.

# The sloth has the slowest metabolism of any mammal on Earth, digesting one leaf takes around 25 days.

# Sloths keep their stomach full because they don't eat very nutritious food. The bacteria responsible for the food process stop working if their body temperature drops too low; this may cause the sloth to starve to death, even with a full belly.

# The sloth has very long, sharp, and strong claws they use to hold onto branches of the tree. The claws also represent their only natural defense against predators.

# Sloths sharp, curved claws are eight to ten centimeters (3 to 4 inches) long.

# Two-toed sloths are most active at night, being nocturnal. While three-toed sloths are diurnal, meaning they are most active in the daytime.

# Every day, Sloths sleep approximately 15 to 18 hours, hanging upside down.

# Sloths can travel a mere 2 meters (6.5 feet) per minute along the ground. They are slightly quicker on the trees at 3 meters (10 feet) per minute.

# Sloths can swim 3 times faster than on land and can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes.

# Sloths are the only mammals whose hair grows in the opposite direction from the hair of other mammals.

# The only time sloths come down to the forest floor is to poop, which they do roughly once a week.

# Every time sloths defecate and urinate at the same spot, and are vulnerable to predators because of this.

# In one single bowel movement, sloths will poop up to 30 percent of their body weight.

# About 50 percent of sloth deaths occur on their trip to the ground once a week to dig a hole and defecate.

# Sloths are arboreal animals meaning they spend most of their time in trees.

# It has been known that some sloths grab their own arms – mistaking them for tree branches – and end up falling to death.

# Sloths spend most of their lives hanging upside down in the trees. They eat, sleep, mate, and give birth from this high hanging position among the branches.

# Sloths are solitary animals and only gather to mate.

# When a female is ready to breed, she screams to attract males, which in pursuit of a mate will travel toward the source of the noise.

# If more than one male reaches her simultaneously, they will fight each other slowly while hanging by their rear legs.

# Mating of sloth takes only 5 seconds.

# Female sloths are usually 7 to 10 months pregnant and only give birth to one baby.

# Depending on the subspecies, the sloth youngster stays with its mother for 6 months to 2 years.

# Sloths live on average 10 to 16 years in the wild and more than 30 years in captivity.

# Even after death some sloths remain hanging from branches.

# Sloth is actually the slowest mammal in the world.

# Algae grow on their fur, camouflaging them with green.

# A recent study shows that certain species of fungi found in sloth fur may eventually be a potent force against certain parasites, cancers, and bacteria.

# The predators of Sloths are big forest cats such as jaguars and ocelots, birds of prey such as harpy eagles, and large snakes like anaconda.

# All mammals have the same number of neck vertebrae except sloths and manatees.

# Sloths are closely related to armadillos and anteaters.

# There were aquatic sloths on Earth, few million years ago. Ancient ground sloths have evolved denser bones, allowing them to dive for seagrass into the water.

# In the 1890s, paleontologist Florentino Ameghino, in Argentina, discovered evidence of cohabitation between humans and Megatherium (the giant ground sloth).

# It was believed that the ancient giant sloth's named Megatherium – were up to 7 meters tall, weighed around 7 tonnes, and had quite an aggressive disposition. Nowadays at the Natural History Museum in London, you can see a full-scale skeleton of a Megatherium.

# There was an elephant-sized sloth and it went extinct 10,000 years ago. It was one of the largest mammals on earth, measuring up to 6 m (20 ft) in tall and weighing 4 tons.

# The Lestodon is an extinct ground Sloth species that grew to 4.6 m (15 ft) and could walk on two feet.

# The ancient Greeks had "Aergia" a goddess of sloth and laziness.

# Thomas Jefferson was an avid Paleontologist who helped find the bones of Megalonyx, the first ground sloth in North America.

# The last sloth on earth survived in Cuba until 2,700 BC.

# In North America, people once fed on rhino-sized sloths weighing 1,300 kilograms as late as 10,000 years ago.

# Most sloths are "outstandingly successful" in their habitats, and 4/6 species are currently rated with "least concern" of extinction.

# The world’s only Sloth orphanage is located in Costa Rica.

# Avocados are optimally adapted for being consumed and digested by an animal that is much larger than any living in the Americas today. It's theorized that they originally evolved their current form to allow animals like the extinct giant ground sloth to spread their seeds.

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