we've all heard of a sloth. But these are really very odd and unique creatures. There are multiple types of sloths, five types of three toed sloths or Bradypodidae. Three types of two toed sloths, and nine varieties of Megalonychidae (two toed and extinct ground sloths). Sloths are believed to have been around to about 60 million years, and are distantly related to Anteaters and Armadillos. What most of them have in common is that they all eat mainly leaves, insects, small reptiles and birds. Sloths have large slow acting stomachs with multiple compartments which in turn leads to a very slow digestion, and a very slow metabolism. This means that because of it's slow digestion it can take a month or more to fully digest something. Their metabolic rates are less than half of that of any mammal it's size, and they maintain a body temperature between 86 and 93 degrees (even lower when resting).
Sloths live in the rain-forests of South and Central America, and despite their usually slow speed they are not defenseless creatures. They will defend themselves if attached, not to mention that most sloths rarely visit the ground where they are more vulnerable. Sloths also have a natural camouflage, and move so slowly that it's difficult to spot them. Poachers pose little threat as they have found that sloths usually do not fall from their tree perch even when shot. Their main threat has been deforestation. Such a slow moving mammal would be put in harms way if it had to relocate even a half a mile. Their average ground speed is about 6.5 feet per minute!
Their hair even grows the opposite direction as most mammals because they hang upside down so much their hair reversed it's growth pattern to protect the skin from the elements. They even give birth hanging from trees. They go to the ground to defacate about once a week, burying their feces afterwards. The only oddity is that they use the same spot every time, which places them at risk. One theory is that they do so to nourish the tree they live in.
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