These weird creatures are medium-sized mammals that are found in the forests of Central and South America.  The animals are omnivores, eating insects, rodents, and small lizards, although they generally prefer to munch on leaves, buds, and tender shoots since these don't move. You see the Sloth is considered to be the laziest animal in the world. 

Sloths like to conserve energy and move very slowly and only when necessary. And I do mean v-e-r-y slowly; around five feet a minute! Although when they are in a hurry they can travel about 15 feet a minute.   While they spend most of their time in trees, scientists have discovered that the animals are actually pretty good swimmers.  You can see a cute video of a Sloth swimming here.

Another curious characteristic of the species, is that Sloths generally sleep, eat, and travel among the trees upside down. Some of them still hang upside down from branches after they have died as their claws are so strong. They do venture to the ground to go to the bathroom, but only about once a week and always in the same spot. (Well they don't roam far from home, do they?)

 

They definitely like to eat, and up to two-thirds of a sloth's body-weight can come from the contents of its stomach. This could be because their slow digestive process can take up to a month or more to complete.

 

There are basically two families of sloths. The Megalonychidae are known as two-toed sloths and the Bradypodidae are three-toed sloths . However, all sloths actually have three toes on their hind feet.

 

Three-toed sloths are about the size of a small dog. They are typically around two feet long, weigh between seven and 10 lbs and have a short (three to four inch) tail. They also have three clawed toes on all four of their legs. Two-toed sloths are slightly bigger and heavier, but faster with longer fur and no tails.

 

Swimming, however, doesn't do anything to improve their hygiene.  Sloths share their home with another variety of species. And I don’t mean they share the trees with them, the sloths move so slowly that they actually have algae and many types of non-parasitic insects living in their fur. The algae are what make the sloth’s fur look green and this acts as camouflage for the animal. In reality, the fur of the sloth is actually a small ecosystem of its own.

 

Along with their camouflage, the only other form of natural defense they have are their claws,  and the long, tough, sharp weapons could inflict serious damage on any predator. However, sloths don’t really have a problem with predators as they blend in so well with the trees. (And would you want to eat an animal covered in algae?) They are most at risk when coming down to the ground. Their main predators are jaguars, harpy eagles, and of course humans. In fact, the majority of sloth deaths in Costa Rica are caused by coming in contact with electrical lines.