7 Sloth Facts for International Sloth Day

Saturday, October 20^th is International Sloth Day. That means we get to spend a whole day talking about sloths so we can all learn about them. When I think of a sloth, I think of a big cuddly animal that moves very slowly and likes to hang upside down in trees.

Tess is a nine-year-old two-toed sloth that lives at SeaWorld San Diego. Right before I watched the Creepy Creatures presentation during Halloween Spooktacular, Tess came out (with her behaviorist, Brie) to teach everyone about how awesome she is. She is very friendly and I learned a lot about her and her species.

• Sloths are arboreal animals and that means they spend most of their time in the trees. I was really surprised that they only come down to go to the bathroom and that only happens about one time a week.
• Their long claws are strong and curved to help them hold onto branches. The claws are also very sharp and dangerous.
• Sloths keep themselves hidden from predators in trees by camouflaging. Algae can grow in their hair so they blend right in with the trees.
• They usually like to live by themselves!
• Sloths mostly eat leaves. In the wild, they also eat lizards, eggs, and insects. Sometimes they eat fruit, and I helped Brie give Tess a snack of fruit and some veggies.
• They move very slowly and can stay in the same position for a long time. They sleep a lot, too, so they can have energy to keep climbing.
• The coolest fact I learned is that because sloths are upside down so much, their organs figure out how to flip upside down inside their bodies.

You can visit Tess at SeaWorld San Diego and learn all about sloths, too!