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about the sloth body I can t find a lot

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Why are sloths slow on land but fast on water?

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Why are sloths slow on land but fast on water?

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Why do sloths only go down the tree once a week?

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Why do sloths only go down the tree once a week?

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Why do sloths have a "mask" on their face like a raccoon?

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Why do sloths have a "mask" on their face like a raccoon?

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Amit thinks they might be so lazy that it's just easier to eat the algae than to climb down the tree. Or maybe the algae is yummy like a leaf because they are both green

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Hanging Tough Life Science Article for Students | Scholastic SuperScience Magazine

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Rescuers use a sloth sporting event to help save one of the world's slowest animals

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Take your time. No, really take your time. It can take a slow-moving sloth up to a month to digest one meal!

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It's a good thing sloths don't have to go to school. They'd never make it on time. These drowsy tree-dwellers sleep up to 20 hours a day! And even when they are awake, they barely move at all. In fact, they're so incredibly sluggish, algae actually grows on their fur.

Sloths live in the tropical forests of Central and South America. With their long arms and shaggy fur, they resemble monkeys, but they are actually related to armadillos and anteaters. They can be 2 to 2.5 feet (0.6 to 0.8 meters) long and, depending on species, weigh from 8 to 17 pounds (3.6 to 7.7 kilograms).

There are two main species of sloth, identified by whether they have two or three claws on their front feet. The two species are quite similar in appearance, with roundish heads, sad-looking eyes, tiny ears, and stubby tails. Two-toed sloths are slightly bigger and tend to spend more time hanging upside-down than their three-toed cousins, who will often sit upright in the fork of a tree branch. Three-toed sloths have facial coloring that makes them look like they're always smiling. They also have two extra neck vertebrae that allow them to turn their heads almost all the way around!

Some scientists think sloths developed their slow-motion lifestyle so they would be less noticeable to predators such as hawks and cats, which rely heavily on their eyesight when hunting. The algae that grows on sloths' fur also helps them avoid predators by letting them blend in with green leaves. They rarely come down from the trees. About once every week, they descend to go to the bathroom, slowly moving about by digging their front claws into the dirt and dragging their bodies. If they are caught by a predator, sloths turn from sluggish to slugger, biting fiercely, hissing, slashing with their claws, and shrieking.

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It's a good thing sloths don't have to go to school. They'd never make it on time. These drowsy tree-dwellers sleep up to 20 hours a day! And even when they are awake, they barely move at all. In fact, they're so incredibly sluggish, algae actually grows on their fur.

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Check out our awesome range of animal facts for kids and learn some fun trivia about our friends in the animal kingdom.

Fun Sloth Facts for Kids

Enjoy our range of fun sloth facts for kids. Learn what they eat, how far sloths can extend their tongue, where they live, why sloths move so slowly and lots more interesting information. Read on and check out our cool trivia about sloths.

Sloths are a medium-sized mammal. There are two types of sloth the two-toed sloth and the three-toed sloth, they are classified into six different species.

All sloths actually have three toes, but the two-toed sloth has only two fingers.

Sloths are part of the order Pilosa so they are related to anteaters and armadillos.

Sloths are tree-dwelling animals, they are found in the jungles of Central and South America.

A sloth's body is usually 50 to 60 cm long. Skeletons of now extinct species of sloth suggest some varieties used to be as large as elephants.

Sloths mainly eat the tree buds, new shoots, fruit and leaves, of the Cecropia tree. Some two-toed sloths also eat insects, small reptiles, and birds.

Sloths have a four-part stomach that very slowly digests the tough leaves they eat, it can sometimes take up to a month for them to digest a meal. Digesting this diet means a sloth has very little energy left to move around making it one of the slowest moving animals in the world.

Sloths can move along the ground at just 2 m (6.5 ft) per minute! In the trees they are slightly quicker at 3 m (10 ft) per minute.

The slow-movement and unique thick fur of the sloth make it a great habitat for other creatures such as moths, beetles, cockroaches, fungi, and algae. In fact, this green colored algae provides a camouflage so sloths can avoid predators.

Sloths can extend their tongues 10 to 12 inches out of their mouths.

The sloth has very long, sharp, and strong claws that they use to hold on to tree branches. The claws are also their only natural defense against predators.

Sloths usually only leave the tree they live in to go to the toilet once a week on the ground. This is when they are most vulnerable to being attacked by their main predators such as jaguars, the harpy eagle and snakes.

Two-toed sloths are nocturnal, being most active at night. While three-toed sloths are diurnal which means they are most active during the day.

It used to be thought sloths slept for 15 to 20 hours a day. However, its now believed they only sleep around 10 hours a day.

In the wild, sloths live on average 10 - 16 years and in captivity over 30 years.

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Fun Sloth Facts for Kids - Interesting Information about Sloths

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Check out our awesome range of animal facts for kids and learn some fun trivia about our friends in the animal kingdom. Fun Sloth Facts for Kids Enjoy our range of fun sloth facts for kids. Learn what they eat, how far sloths can extend their tongue, where they live, why sloths move so slowly and lots more interesting information.

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Some sloths stay in the same tree for years. Their huge hooked claws and long arms allow them to spend most of their time hanging upside-down from trees. Since they have a slow metabolism, they need very little food. They feed on fruit, leaves, buds, and young twigs.

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1. Sloths are actually very lazy.
Some of the least-active animals out there, sloths sleep from 15 to 18 hours each day! Some even stay in the same tree their entire life.
2. Sloths are great at hanging out (even after they die!)
Their huge hooked claws and lanky arms enable them to spend most of their time hanging from tree branches. Awake or asleep, they won't lose their grip. In fact, researchers recently found that even after death they retain their grip! After they have died, sloths can sometimes be found hanging from tree branches just where they were when they were alive.
3. Sloths spend most of their lives upside down.
When sloths are sleeping for their usual 15-18 hours per day, they are upside-down. But that's not all. Mother sloths give birth to their babies while hanging upside-down!
4. There used to be "mega sloths" roaming the Earth.
Now the size of a household pet, the ancient ancestors of today's sloths were hardly as docile. As recently as 10,000 years ago, the giant sloth roamed South America. Described as being between the size of a rhinoceros and small elephant, the "opportunistic carnivores" don't sound as cute and cuddly as their modern-day counterparts.
5. Sloth's bodies are actually their own ecosystem!
Being lazy and spending all of your time in a tree doesn't exactly lead to the cleanest coat. If you're wondering why these gray and brown-haired mammals sometimes have a greenish tint, it's because their coats have a part-time job as a habitat for colonies of symbiotic algae! Their body has a deep groove for housing the algae, whose color is meant to help the animals camouflage with their environment in the rainy season.
6. Sloths have an incredibly slow metabolism.
Part of that slothful persona is a very slothful diet. It takes so long for a sloth to digest the food it eats (and to eat enough to get the nutrients that it needs) that it only has to go to the bathroom about once a week! This is usually one of the few times the sloths will leave their tree.
7. Some sloths can turn their heads all the way around!
Well, almost. Three-toed sloths can turn their necks up to 270 degrees in either direction! This is due to three extra vertebrae than their two-toed counterparts.
8. Sloths aren't very coy in the dating game.
When looking for mates, female sloths emit a bloodcurdling scream that can be heard for 700 meters! Talk about putting yourself out there.
9. Sloths are amazing swimmers.
Known to sometimes simply let go from their tree branch and drop into water below for a quick swim, they can move three times faster in water than they can on land. It must come from their ancestors; one type of ancient sloth spent all of their time in water.
10. Sloths need protection.
The pygmy three-toed sloth is endangered, and only 79 individuals are said to be remaining. You can symbolically adopt a Sloth from the World Wildlife Fund and donate to help protect this endangered species.

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The sloth, a crowd favorite, is one of the most interesting animals that call the Amazon home. These slow-moving tree-dwellers, aptly named after their very leisurely pace of life, top the list of exotic animals that travelers can see in the Amazon and won't want to miss!