Species Spotlight: Sloth

Sloth

Questions and answers

Do sloths swim?
Sloths are strong swimmers. They will sometimes drop down from their treetop perches into water and use their extended arms to propel through the water.

Why are sloths slow?
Sloths have an extremely low metabolic rate, which means they move at a languid, sluggish pace through the trees. On average, sloths travel 41 yards per day—less than half the length of a football field!

What do sloths eat?
Sloths munch on leaves, twigs and buds. A low metabolic rate means sloths can survive on relatively little food; it takes days for them to process what other animals can digest in a matter of hours.

 

  • pale throated sloth

    Habitat

    Sloths spend a majority of their time up in the canopy, coming down only one time per week to relieve themselves.

  • sloth eating

    Diet

    Sloths munch on leaves, twigs and buds.

  • Cute face of young three-toed sloth, Costa Rica, Central America

    Threats

    Though not all sloths are endangered, some of the six species are threatened by habitat loss.

  • sloth hanging

    INTERESTING FACT

    Sloths live solitary lives and travel between trees using canopy vines. They depend on the health and survival of Central and South American tropical forests.

 

How You Can Help

Help Chinstrap Penguins by supporting WWF

Support Conservation

Become a member of WWF and support our global conservation efforts.

 Adopt a Three-toed Sloth

Adopt a Three-toed Sloth

Make a symbolic three-toed sloth adoption to help save some of the world's most endangered animals from extinction and support WWF's conservation efforts.

Learn more about sloths

 

Species from other months