Habitat
Rainforest canopy
Amazon Heroes collection
Sloth
Try this
Mini mission: draw a sloth hanging from a branch and add tiny details for algae on its fur.
Diet
Mostly leaves, plus some fruit and flowers.
Ecosystem role
Moves slowly to save energy from a low-energy leaf diet; its fur can host its own small ecosystem of algae and insects.
Fun fact
Sloths move so slowly that algae can grow on their fur.
Where it lives
- Continent
- Americas
- Region
- Amazon Basin and Central/South America
- Environment
- Rainforest canopy
Did you know?
- Sloths spend most of their lives upside down -- they even sleep, eat, and give birth hanging from branches.
- A sloth usually only climbs down to the forest floor about once a week -- it's their riskiest moment, since predators can catch them more easily on the ground.
Test what you learned
Why do sloths move so slowly?
How do sloths spend most of their time?
About how often does a sloth climb down to the forest floor?
