Sloths are known to be one of the most chill animals around. Some people have referred to them as their spirit animal because of how they can sleep for the majority of their lifetime, but this is actually a misconception, which we’ll clarify later on. But sloths are also referred to as a “sin.”
But there’s actually more interesting things about the ever-so-chill sloth than just its chill or relaxed demeanor or being referred to as one of the seven deadly sins. They’re quite interesting animals, and just like every other living creature, also plays an important role in our ecosystem.
Sloth facts
In this article, we’ll be giving you some cool and nice to know sloth facts. These are great as trivia to share with your friends and family to know more about this calm, cool, and collected creature. You’ll be surprised at how they’re actually misunderstood on so many things because of their name. Here, we’ll be telling you fun facts about them that will not only serve as “nice to know” information but will probably give you a better perception of them. So, read on to find out more!
Sleepy cuties
Sloths aren’t actually lazy, even if their name suggests such. They are just really slow on their feet. You’d be surprised to know that they sleep normally, just like humans for about eight to ten hours a day. In captivity, for conservation purposes, they sleep at about ten to fifteen hours a day. This is probably one of the more shocking myths about sloths that we’re debunking because, in truth, they’re not actually sleepy lazy creatures.
Slow metabolism
Sloths are the slowest-moving animals on earth. With only 25-30% of metabolic rate for their normal body weight, that doesn’t even get to half of what they need.
This means they have to be frugal with how they use their energy so that they can conserve it through their very slow movements. Now, due to their very slow metabolism, they also process their food very slowly. It even takes them 30 days just to digest a leave.
And they can only defecate once a week! The problem with this is that they have to go to the ground to do their “business,” which is very risky since they get exposed to potential predators and other jungle hazards. And when they do go “number two,” their stomach shrinks automatically and one-third of their weight drops.
Fast on water
Since sloths have long claws, they have a hard time crawling on land. It takes them one minute to walk just a foot long.
But you’ll be surprised to know that they can actually move three times faster on water! And when they’re on water, they can suppress their metabolism which makes their heart rate slower by a third of its regular speed, which means they can hold their breath underwater for around 40 minutes to conserve their energy.
Hanging on trees
Avoiding predators on jungle grounds is easy if you’re fast. But since sloths are super slow, they are usually (if not almost their whole life) hanging on trees. With their organs attached to their rib cages, they are basically weightless, which makes it easier for them to hang and breathe in an upside-down position. Spending most of their lifetime on trees, their muscles, limbs, and claws become stronger. So when they die, they can still be hanging on a tree.
Fascinating and quite weird, right?
Endangered
Sloths are found in rainforests, jungles, and in the wild. Their main habitat is treetops, but since there are a lot of threats of deforestation, their homes are very much affected. One of the sloth species, which is the three-toed Pygmy is considered to be endangered because of environmental and natural factors.
Many people are not aware that although sloths are adorable, they’re not meant to be kept in captivity as pets. Their diet and lifestyle relies on nature and tries. However, they are still captured and trafficked, which is one of the major reasons why these creatures are threatened.
Awesome, right?
And those are five fun facts about the ever-so-chill and adorable sloth.
They are very cute and have been mistaken for many years as lazy, but we hope these facts helped you out on knowing more about these fascinating creatures. There’s really so much more to them than what they are portrayed as and how they’re named.
But as we’ve mentioned, although they are very cute, they shouldn’t be kept as pets. Let’s just leave them to where they truly belong⎯in the wild. These are cool facts that you can share with your friends and family, and any animal lover out there. Who could resist a sloth’s permanently smiling adorable face, right? We hope you enjoyed our fun facts about sloths.
