![]() Time and additional specimens eventually revealed the true taxonomic relationships, but the confusing common name remains.Īs animals who consume termites and ants, sloth bears are considered myrmecophagous. ![]() At the time, Shaw thought that the bear was related to a sloth. Bradypus is also the genus of three species of sloth. He called it Ursine bradypus, ursine meaning bearlike and bradypus meaning slow foot. The first valid scientific description of this species was by George Shaw in 1791. It is thought that their feet are turned inward to increase digging efficiency. Due to their diet of insects and fruit, their premolars and molars are smaller than those of other bears, but they have large canines to use for defense. They have a keen sense of smell, as well as near-sight similar to that of humans.Īdult sloth bears are missing their top two front teeth (incisors), which enables them to suck up termites and other insects with ease. Sloth bears' nostrils can close completely, protecting the animals from dust or insects when raiding termite nests or beehives. Their shaggy fur does not have an undercoat, so it keeps them relatively cool in their native, warm climate and protects them from tropical insects. A cream-colored “V” or “Y” shape usually marks their chests. Sloths are actually the slowest mammal in the world, so if you are planning on challenging an animal to a race anytime soon, go for the sloth.Sloth bears have shaggy, dusty-black coats pale, short-haired muzzles and long, curved claws which they use to excavate termites and ants. Three-toed sloths are extremely picky and only eat the leaves from the trees where they were born.Īll sloths have three toes, although the names of their species make you think otherwise. Sloths are suspected to live much longer than this but there’s not enough research on how long they live just yet. The oldest sloth just turned 50 years old. Sloths are designed to fall out of trees and they fall out of them on average once a week. This is more than any other animal and means it takes them a long time to digest anything. Two fingered sloths have a stomach with 46 ribs. Sloths sleep on average 15-20 hours within a day. Giant sloths have been around since the ice age and were known as the Megatheriums which were the size of an elephant. Sloths can grow a layer of algae as a camouflage method to help protect them from predators. This means that they eat lots of leaves and fruit, basically they live as vegetarians. Sloths are slow because it is part of their energy-saving techniques which helps regulate their body temperature. This is because they have two extra vertebrae in their neck. This is partly due to their intense amounts of upper body strength, but they also breathe better this way.Ī sloth can turn their head 270 degrees. The mother will give birth up in the trees and scoop her baby up after birth and lay it across her stomach. Their home is seen as the safest place for them as it is high above the ground and they can protect themselves from predators. It is not often that a sloth will leave their tree and they view it as their home. These sloths are the toed and three-toed sloths and they roam the rainforests in Central and South America. There are two different types of sloths and 6 subspecies within the two types. This is partly due to them being able to keep their nose above water while swimming. Sloths can swim three times as fast in the water as they can on land. They are faster in the water than they are on land. To make up for their eyesight, sloths have a great sense of smell and therefore they have a great spatial memory. This is also why sloths do not run as fast. This leads to them being colour-blind with a great lack of vision. They have a condition known as Monochromacy which means they lack cone cells in their eyes. That being said sloths do have 30% less muscle mass than other animals their size. Although they may be small, they are very strong and one of their arms alone can lift up their entire body weight. Sloths are around three times stronger than humans. That is just one of many fun facts about sloths, here are 21 more that we are sure will pique your interest and put a smile on your face. They are actually just super patient and like to be aware of their surroundings. But what many people do not know about sloths is that they are not as lazy as everyone makes them out to be. ![]() The sloth is one of the most loved animals in the world, this is partly to do with their adorable facial expressions that are extremely fascinating. ![]()
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