The average length of a sloth is between 24 and 31 inches but can vary by species.The average weight of a sloth is between 7.9 and 17 pounds but can vary by species.The three-toed sloth species are herbivores and feed exclusively on the leaves of only a few trees.The two-toed sloth species are omnivores and have a diet of fruits, leaves, insects and some small reptiles.Sloths can be found in the rainforests of Central and South America.26, 2018, by Live Science Contributor, Annie Roth. Having a few extra neck vertebrae allows three-toed sloths to rotate their heads up to 270 degrees. Two-toed sloth species have between five and seven neck vertebrae, while three-toed sloths have eight or nine. Staying out of sight is the sloth's best defense against its predators, which include jaguars, harpy eagles and humans.Īll mammals, from humans to giraffes, have seven vertebrae in their necks - except for sloths and manatees. Having green fur provides these arboreal animals with camouflage to blend in among the trees. The algae works to the sloth's advantage. More than half of all sloths harbor this algae, which gives their coarse, brownish-gray coats a greenish hue during the rainy season. This green algae, known as Trichophilus, grows only on the fur of sloths. They creep at such a slow pace that algae grows on their fur. Sloths are considered the world's slowest animal. However, the maned three-toed sloth ( Bradypus torquatus), native to Brazil's rapidly shrinking Atlantic Forest, is classified as vulnerable to extinction and the pygmy three-toed sloth, found only on Panama's Escudo Island, is classified as critically endangered. Four of the six living sloth species are rated as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Nonetheless, humans pose a threat to the continued survival of sloths through deforestation and poaching. (Image credit: ) Conservation statusĭespite sloths being relatively defenseless creatures, their populations aren't struggling as a whole. Their simple gut microbes mean they don’t produce flatulence instead, the methane those microbes give off is absorbed into the bloodstream and simply breathed out. Like the animal itself, the digestive system of a sloth is very slow, taking days to digest the leaves it eats. However, the reverse is true for the the three-toed, pale-throated sloth. Female two-toed sloths typically reach sexual maturity at approximately 3 years of age, while males mature at 4 to 5 years of age. For most species of sloth, females mature faster than male sloths, according to the San Diego Zoo. Even after they stop dangling from their mother, little sloths stay by their mother's side for two to four years, depending on their species. They cling to their mother's belly until they are able to feed themselves, which can take anywhere from five weeks to six months, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. All female sloths have only one baby at a time.Īfter they are born, the babies aren't in a hurry to leave their mother. Gestation can take anywhere from five to six months, as it does for the pale-throated sloth ( Bradypus tridactylus), to 11.5 months, as it does for the Hoffman's two-toed sloth ( Choloepus hoffmanni). Three-toed sloths tend to breed during late summer to early fall and give birth early the next year, while two-toed sloth species have a "blurred reproductive schedule that happens year-round," Chiarello said. The mating habits and gestations times of a sloth vary widely by species, Chiarello said. " old males with scars in their faces or even blind one eye, which could possibly result from fighting against same-sex opponents," biologist and sloth researcher Adriano Chiarello of the University of São Paulo previously told Live Science. These altercations, though rare, can be surprisingly violent. If more than one male answers this call, the suitors will fight for her by hanging from branches by their feet and swiping at each other. Courting starts when a female yells a shrill, monoton mating scream to let the males in the area know she is ready. (Image credit: Alvaro Pantoja ) Mating habits It uses its long claws to hang from the treetops, and its grip is so strong that even dead sloths have been known to remain suspended from a branch, National Geographic said. It's so inactive that green algae grow on its shaggy coat, according to National Geographic. The three-toed sloth ( Bradypus variegatus) is one of the world's slowest mammals.
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