Sloth Facts For Kids

Explore our collection of entertaining sloth-related facts for children. Find out what they eat and how far they can expand their tongues, the places they live, the reason why sloths are so slow to move and other interesting facts. Explore our fun Sloth Facts!

1. Sloths are mammals of medium size. There are two kinds of sloths, the two-toed and the three-toed one. They are divided into six species.
2. Each sloth has three toes. However, the two-toed one has only two fingers.
3. Sloths belong to the order Pilosa which means they’re closely related to anteaters as well as armadillos.
4. Sloths are trees-dwelling animals and they live in the forests that are located in Central as well as South America.
5. A sloth’s body can range from between 50 and 60 cm in length. Skeletons from the gone species of the sloth suggests the possibility that some species were larger than elephants.
6. The majority of sloths consume the tree buds, new shoots leaves and fruit from the Cecropia tree. Two-toed sloths also eat insects, small reptiles and birds.
7. The stomach of sloths is four-part that slowly digests the tough leaves that they eat It can take as long as one month to digest their food. The process of digesting this food means that it has very less energy to move about, making it among the animals that move slowest around the globe.
8. The sloths can walk across the ground in just 2 meters (6.5 feet) in a minute! In the trees , they’re little faster, at around 3 meters (10 feet) per minute.
9. The slow-moving and distinctive hair of the sloth makes it a perfect habitat for other creatures like moths, cockroaches, beetles as well as fungi and algae. Actually the algae’s green color is a disguise for sloths so they can ward off predators.
10. The tongue of sloths extends up to 12 inches from their mouths.
11. The sloth has extremely long, sharp and sturdy claws which can be used to hold to the branches of trees. They also use their claws as their primary defense against predators.
12. They usually leave the tree that they live in to use the toilet at least once per week while on the ground. This is the time they are at risk of becoming attacked by primary predators like jaguars, the harpy Eagle and snakes.
13. Two-toed sloths are nocturnal being active most at night. Three-toed sloths are diurnal that means they are the most active during the day.
14. It was believed that sloths were asleep for between 15 and 20 hours per day. It is now thought that they sleep for around 10 hours each day.
15. Wild, they live in the wild for between 10 and 16 years, and in captivity more than 30 years.

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