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The pale-throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus tridactylus), which inhabits tropical rainforests in northern South America. It is similar in appearance to, and often confused with, the brown-throated three-toed sloth, which has a much wider distribution. Genetic evidence indicates the two species diverged around six million years ago. [10]
Famously slow-moving, a sloth travels at an average speed of 0.24 km/h (0.15 mph). [8] Three-toed sloths are about the size of a small dog or a large cat, with the head and body having a combined length of around 45 cm (18 in) and a weight of 3.5–4.5 kg (8–10 lb).
Slow Sloth Facts. We all know that sloths move slowly, but they do almost everything else just as slow. Sloths eat slow and digest super slowly...it can take them 30 days to digest just one leaf ...
Because of their slow metabolism, sloths can starve to death even with a full belly. They also only have a bowel movement once a week. When they're ready to go #2, scientists call it the 'poop dance'.
However, a sloth's main defense is to avoid being attacked in the first place. The two-toed sloth can survive wounds that would be fatal to another mammal its size. The sloth's slow, deliberate movements and algae-covered fur make them difficult for predators to spot from a distance. Their treetop homes are also out of reach for many larger ...
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Both types of sloth tend to occupy the same forests; in most areas, a particular species of the somewhat smaller and generally slower-moving three-toed sloth (Bradypus) and a single species of the two-toed type will jointly predominate. Although similar in overall appearance, the relationship between the two genera is not close.
Unfortunately, the bulk of sloth species that once roamed the earth -- some of which grew to be the size of elephants -- cannot say the same. Long ago, there Sloths were once as large as elephants