sloth poster

1. Seeing as though sloths spend the majority of their life in trees, their muscles/limbs have grown to adapt to tree life. In some cases after a sloth dies, they are still hanging from the tree as their grip is incredibly strong • Sloths are mammals living in the wild sleep just over 9 ½ hours a day contrary to sloths living in caged environments that sleeps on average 15- 20 hours daily. • Their small diet needs them to use the bathroom just once a week- good because they move very slowly and could be killed if they went down from their tree too often. • Sloths are generally upside down and as such their fur as grown in a way which supports the ecosystem living within it (“symbiotic algae”). • The average sloth is generally the size of a small dog, small flat head, long claws (nails) and grey- brown fur. • Said fur sometimes appears grey- green as they move at slow speeds allowing camouflaging algae to grow upon their coats. • 58 cm • 4 kg • Sloths are sometimes called ais (pronounced eyes) due to the “long, high- pitched” cry they can produce. • Sloths obtain an additional neck vertebrae which allows them to turn their heads up to 270 degrees. • Sloths can live up to 30 years • Sloths are found in the canopies of the Central and South American rainforests Sloths are nocturnal animals that sleep with their head between their arms allowing then to blend into the tree- for protection from predators. Sloths are thought to be sedentary animals as even awake the hardly move. Sloths are made to lie in trees as on land their weak hind legs and long claws force them to dig their claws into the ground and drag themselves along. Sloths are good swimmers because their long arms allow them to capably move throughout the water. • Sloths obtain an incredibly slow metabolism therefore they require little food (herbivore diet) , this generally is: • Fruit • Leaves • Buds • Young twigs