Sloths

Sloths are not as silent as they seem; their high-pitched squeaks and whistles echo over 100 feet (30 meters) through the dense forest!

Despite being slow on land and in trees, sloths can swim three times faster than they can move on land!

Sloths blink extremely slowly, sometimes taking several seconds to complete a single blink!

Baby sloths learn what foods are safe to eat by licking the remnants from their mother’s mouth!

Habitat & Survival

Harpy eagles are one of the sloth’s main predators, able to spot them from high above the rainforest canopy!

A sloth’s main defense against predators is remaining completely still to avoid being detected!

Sloths that live near human settlements face dangers from power lines, where they might get electrocuted while trying to cross!

Sloths can survive falls from over 100 feet (30 meters) high in the rainforest canopy because their loose joints absorb the impact!

Some indigenous peoples in South America hunt sloths for food and use their strong claws as tools!

Roads cutting through forests are dangerous for sloths, who sometimes attempt to cross by crawling along the ground at their slow pace!

Sloths will sometimes remain motionless for hours even after detecting a predator, rather than trying to flee!

Life Cycle

Female sloths are pregnant for 6 to 12 months before giving birth to a single baby!

Baby sloths ride on their mother’s belly for the first 5-6 months of life, clinging to her fur!

Mother sloths teach their babies which leaves are safe to eat during the 6-12 months they stay together!

Baby sloths learn to climb when they’re only a few weeks old, but stay with their mothers until they’re about one year old!

While some sloth species have specific mating seasons, others, like the three-toed sloth, can reproduce year-round, making their breeding habits unique!

Female sloths give birth while hanging upside down from a tree branch, and the baby must climb up to the mother’s belly immediately after birth!

Sloths typically have only one baby at a time, and twins are extremely rare!

A baby sloth’s first challenge in life is climbing through its mother’s fur to reach her nipple, which can take up to 30 minutes!

Female three-toed sloths make a high-pitched “eeeeeh” call when they’re ready to mate, which can be heard up to 700 meters away!

Male sloths compete for females by hanging from branches by their feet and fighting with their claws!

Diet & Feeding

Sloths may eat from 90 different tree species but usually specialize in just a few favorites in their home range!

A sloth can lose up to one-third of its body weight when it defecates, which it does only about once a week!

Conservation & Population

Two of the six sloth species are considered vulnerable or critically endangered due to habitat loss, including the Pygmy three-toed sloth and the Maned sloth!

Sloth sanctuaries in Costa Rica and other countries rehabilitate injured sloths and return them to the wild!

Electric lines pose a serious threat to sloths, who mistake them for tree branches and get electrocuted!

You can help save sloths by supporting rainforest conservation efforts and avoiding products that contribute to deforestation!