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Considering their cute face, one could only imagine how fascinating reading facts about sloths could be. Sloths are slow creatures who live on trees for the majority of their life, eating leaves of different types and enjoying a slow energy-saving lifestyle. When a sloth eats, their body takes many days or weeks to convert that food into energy. Therefore, they move slowly to conserve their energy and live comfortably. In this blog, you will read more interesting facts about sloths and their diet, habitat, and appearance for kids along with pictures.
Table of Contents
Fun Facts About Sloths
1. Sloths are mammals.
2. Sloths have been around for about 65.5 million years.
3. Ancient giant sloths, known as Megatherium, were believed to be up to 7 metres tall and weighed about 7 tonnes.
4. Six sloth species are found in the Americas, primarily in the tropical rainforests. These are Hoffman, Linnaeus, Pygmy, Maned, Brown, and Pale-throated.
5. While the pygmy three-toed sloth is endangered, the maned three-toed sloth is vulnerable.
6. Sloths are tree-dwelling creatures who spend most of their lives hanging motionlessly in tree branches.
7. Sloths usually defecate once a week. They are known to travel all the way from the tree canopy to the bottom to defecate or urinate on the forest floor.
8. Sloths are excellent swimmers.
9. The average lifespan of two-toed sloths is believed to be around 20 years.
10. In human captivity, a Hoffman two-toed sloth called Miss C lived up to 43 years.
11. Sloths are generally nocturnal and solitary animals.
12. The stomach of a sloth is constantly filled with food, making up about 30% of their weight.
13. Sloths are heterothermic, meaning they have imperfect control over their body temperature.
14. On average, sloths move 41 yards per day, which is less than half the length of a football field.
15. The gestation period is usually about six months.
16. Sloths sleep for about 15 hours a day.
17. Another interesting fact about sloths and avocados is that without sloths, there would be no avocados. The giant ground sloths had digestive systems large enough to process the huge avocado seed. They thoroughly enjoyed this fruit and then dispersed the seeds everywhere.
Also Read: Top 10 Facts About Endangered Animals
Interesting Facts About Sloth Appearance
1. There are two types of sloths in the wild; two-toed sloths and three-toed sloths.
2. The two-toed sloths are larger than their three-toed species.
3. They have long and curved claws that help them hang and move between branches easily.
4. One interesting fact about sloth fur is that it is a living and breathing home to many organisms.
5. Sloths are characterised by their long legs, stumpy tails, and round heads.
Also Read: 47+ Fun Interesting Animal Facts for Kids
Unknown Facts About Sloth Diet
1. Sloths are majorly folivores.
2. They like eating leaves, fruits, and sap of different trees.
3. Sloths have multi-chambered stomachs that help digest fibrous leaves.
4. They have low metabolism, leading to slow digestion.
General Facts About Sloth Habitat
1. Sloths are found in the tropical areas of South and Central America.
2. They spend most of their life in the forest canopy.
3. Maned sloths are restricted to a small Atlantic forest of southeastern Brazil.
4. Another interesting fact about sloth habitat is that the pygmy three-toed sloths inhabit the Isla Escudo de Veraguas, a Caribbean island.
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FAQs
5 interesting facts about sloths include that they are mammals, they have poor vision, they are excellent swimmers, they are folivores, and lastly, they are found in South and Central America.
Sloths are colour-blind and have poor eyesight, making them completely blind in daylight.
Sloths are classed as herbivores. Their diet includes leaves and fruits in rare cases. Interestingly, some sloths are known to eat bird eggs and small insects.
Hope you had fun reading these interesting facts about sloths. If you want to know more about topics like this, then visit our Interesting Facts and General Knowledge page!