Sloths are the slowest mammals on land. Some South American sloths move slow enough for algae to grow in their fur. Although their speed depends on the circumstances and environment, they generally move at the speed of 1.2 miles per hour (1.9 kilometers per hour). They tend to travel around 41 yards per day.
Sloths are so sluggish because they have an extremely slow metabolism. It usually takes them days to digest a meal. They spend much of their day, about 15 hours, sleeping and they maintain a temperature of 86-93 degrees Fahrenheit (30-34 degrees Celsius). They are vegetarian and feed on leaves and buds of plants. Sloths spend most of their time on treetops which keeps them safe from predators.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, some sloth species are endangered as of 2014 due to habitat loss.
More about sloths:
- Sloths live in tropical forests in Central and South America.
- There are two-toed and three-toed sloths and they're all good swimmers.
- October 20 is International Sloth Day, declared by the conversation organization AIUNAU in 2011.