Ever heard the phrase as slow as a sloth? The sloth is the slowest mammal in the world. They are found in South and Central America, where they spend most of their time in the rainforest canopy.

The sloth's most noticeable trait is its extremely slow speed of movement. They spend most of their time hanging upside down from tree branches. Despite their slow motion, sloths are excellent swimmers thanks to their long arms.

The sloth is one exciting animal to observe in its natural habitat, although it can also be observed in some zoos.

Cool Sloth Facts

• Sloths are officially the slowest mammal on the planet. They also have shorter cervical spines, less than seven, which is typical of all mammals.
• All sloth species have three-toed back limbs, but some have two-toed forelimbs.
• There are six sloth species in the wild. An average sloth can live for 25 to 40 years.
• Sloths eat, sleep and even give birth, hanging from tree branches in the rainforest canopy.
• Sloths have a very low body temperature which may be why their metabolism is so slow.
• Eagles, snakes, and jaguars are some of the sloth's natural predators in the wild.
• Sloths do not defecate in the canopy. Instead, they move to the forest floor and relieve themselves weekly.