Just Hanging Out

What’s your hurry: Sloths move so slow - an average of 0.15 miles (0.24 kilometers) per hour - that algae often grows in their fur. The algae helps them appear as part of the forest foliage, protecting them from predators. –animalhype.com

You read it first in The Factory in Guide magazine.

One of the cutest looking creatures, I think, is the sloth. They always seem to be smiling! However, they may also be one of the more dirty looking animals. Did you know that sloths move so slowly that algae has a chance to grow on them?! It’s true! 

Their gray, tannish hair is rather long and it’s the perfect place for insects such as moths, beetles, and cockroaches to live. Because their hair also holds water, this causes algae and fungi to grow and thrive. This is perfect for the sloth, he doesn’t even have to climb very far for a tasty algae snack. But this is also why sloths can look greenish. However, it’s a great way to blend in to the foliage which helps protect them from their enemies.

There are two types of sloth, the two-toed sloth and the three-toed sloth, and they are classified into six different species. All sloths actually have three toes, but the two-toed sloth has only two fingers. 

Sloths are a medium-sized mammal. 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). They are relatives to the armadillo and the anteater.

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!

Sloths can be found in South and Central America’s forests mostly up in the trees. They do come down to the ground about once a week when they have to relieve themselves. Since they can’t walk, they move about slowly digging their front claws into the ground and dragging their bodies. However, this is when they are most vulnerable to being attacked by their main predators such as snakes, jaguars and the Harpy eagle. 

They only have their claws to defend themselves. If a predator does come around they turn from sluggish to slugger, biting fiercely, hissing, slashing with their claws, and shrieking.

So, what does a sloth eat? Well, mainly the tree buds, new shoots, fruit and leaves, of the Cecropia tree. Some two-toed sloths also eat insects, small reptiles, and birds.

The sloth is a home for insects and algae, and the algae helps keep the sloth more safe as it allows the sloth to blend in with the trees. All the creatures God created have their own unique qualities to benefit the others around them. Let’s see how we can benefit those around us today!

“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10 NKJV

—Carol Lyons, Assistant
Discovery Mountain

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.