Unique Rain-Forest Sloth

Two-toed Sloth

Sloth:

Sloths are medium sized mammals belonging to the families Megalonychidae (two-toed sloth) and Bradypodidae (three-toed sloth), classified into six species. They are part of the order Pilosa and that’s why related to ant eaters, which sport a similar set of appropriate claws. Extant sloths are tree-dwelling residents of the jungles of Central and South America, and are known for being slow moving, and on account of this named "sloths". Extinct sloth species include many ground sloths, some of which come up to the size of elephants.Sloths are classified as folivores that means leaf eater, as most of their food includes of buds, tender shoots, and leaves, mainly of Cecropia trees. Some two toed sloths have been documented as eating insects, small reptiles, and birds as a small supplement to their food. Linnaeus's two-toed sloth has a

short time since been documented eating human faces from open toilets. They have made remarkable adaptations to an arboreal exploring lifestyle.

Three-toed Sloth

Leaves, their main diet source, provide very little energy, and do not desolve food easily.Therefore, Sloths, have large, specific, slow acting stomachs with multiple closets in which symbiotic bacteria break down the troublesome leaves. As much as two-thirds of a well-fed sloth's body weight consists of the contents of its stomach, and the digestion process can take a month or more to complete. Sloths have very low metabolic rates, less than half of that estimated for a mammal of their size, and maintain low body temperatures when active (30–34°C or 86–93°F), and still lower temperatures when resting.

Three-toed Sloth Eating Leaves

Sloth fur exhibits specific functions: the outer hair grow in a direction opposite from that of other mammals. Sloths spend so much time with their legs above their bodies, their hair grow away from the extremities to provide protection from the elements while the sloth hangs upside down. Sloths have short, flat heads, big eyes, short snouts, long legs, and tiny ears. Some species have stubby tails (6–7 cm long). Altogether, sloth’s bodies usually are between 50 to 60 cm long. Sloth’s claws serve as their only natural defence. A traped sloth may swipe at its attackers in an effort to scare them away or wound them. sloths blend in with the trees and, moving only slowly, do not attract attention. The main predators of sloths are the jaguar, the harpy eagle, and humans. The majority of recorded sloth deaths in Costa Rica are due to contact with electrical lines.Sloths move only when necessary and even then very slowly, While they sometimes sit on top of branches, they usually eat, sleep, and even give birth hanging from limbs. They sometimes remain hanging from branches after death. On the ground, the maximum speed of the three-toed sloth is 2 meter or 6.5 ft per minute.