Sloths

Sloths are found throughout Central America and northern South America, parts of Brazil and Peru. They live in the trees of the tropical rainforests, where they spend most of their time curled up or hanging upside down. Sloths will sleep, eat, mate and even give birth upside down! They max out at 2.5 feet and weigh between 9 and 17 pounds (about the size of a small dog). They have coarse, brown fur, long limbs and curved claws for hanging tightly onto tree branches - the adaptation to upside-down tree living. Two of the six species of sloths rate high on the list of endangered animals. One reason is because people are cutting down more trees than we need. The sloths that do survive will get longer claws because the trees will get thicker. The trees leaves will cover more of the tree so they’re going to get more hair.