We can find sloths at the tropical rainforests of south and central America. They are arboreal mammals and there are two families of theme : the three-toed sloths and the two-toed sloths
Baby sloths learnt what to eat by licking their mother's lips. All the sloths eat the leaves of cecropia. Two-toed sloths have a diverse diet of insects, leaves, carrion, fruits, leaves and small lizards, ranging over up to 140 hectares. Three-toed sloths, on the other hand, have a limited diet of leaves from only a few trees, and no mammal digests as slowly.
Sloths can be 60 centimetres (24 in) – 80 centimetres (31 in) long and, depending on species, weigh from 3.6 kilograms (7.9 lb) to 7.7 kilograms (17 lb). Two-toed sloths are slightly larger.Sloths have long limbs and rounded heads with tiny ears. Three-toed sloths also have stubby tails about 5 centimetres (2.0 in) – 6 centimetres (2.4 in) long. While almost all mammals have seven cervical vertebrae, two-toed sloths have only six, while three-toed sloths have nine,[17] allowing them to rotate their heads through 270 degrees.
Sloths have colour vision, but have poor visual acuity. They also have poor hearing. Thus, they rely on their sense of smell and touch to find food.
Sloths are heterothermic, meaning their body temperature may vary according to the environment, normally ranging from 25 °C (77 °F) to 35 °C (95 °F), but able to drop to as low as 20 °C (68 °F), inducing torpor.
The majority of recorded sloth deaths in Costa Rica are due to contact with electrical lines and poachers. Their claws also provide another, unexpected deterrent to human hunters; when hanging upside-down in a tree, they are held in place by the claws themselves and often do not fall down even if shot from below.
Sloths are victims of animal trafficking where they are sold as pets. However they make very poor pets as they have such a specialized ecology.
The founder and director of the Green Heritage Fund Suriname, Monique Pool, has helped rescue and release more than 600 sloths, anteaters, armadillos, and porcupines.
The Sloth Institute Costa Rica is known for caring, rehabilitating and releasing sloths back into the wild. Also in Costa Rica, the Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary cares for sloths. It rehabilitated and released about 130 individuals back into the wild. However, a report in May 2016 featured two former veterinarians from the facility who were intensely critical of the sanctuary's efforts, accusing it of mistreating the animals.
The first of the Ice Age movies in 2002 features Sid, a prehistoric ground sloth, as a central character.
The common ancestor of the two existing sloth genera dates to about 40 million years ago, with similarities between the two- and three- toed sloths an example of convergent evolution.[12]
The ancient Xenarthra included a much greater variety of species than today. Ancient sloths were not arboreal but dwelled on land, and were the size of bears. The Megatherium, a widespread species was larger than an elephant
