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Some Weird n' Wild Creatures boast high-speed lifestyles, but not the two-toed sloth. This animal lazes about for most of the day and night, and when it does move, it travels at the pace of a snail. The sloth stays in one place for so long that it grows algae on its fur! The greenish growth actually helps the sloth hide from predators. The slow-moving mammal uses long claws to grip tree branches while it hangs out and eats; the claws are also used to fight off enemies.

Get a Grip: Long, curved claws are the chief tools this animal uses. They help the creature hang from and crawl along tree branches. The sloth also uses them to slash at predators, such as jungle cats and birds of prey, especially the harpy eagle.

Slowpoke: The two-toed sloth is difficult to spot in the wild because it rarely moves. When it does, it's so slow it doesn't make much noise or rustle leaves. (Sloth is another word for lazy!) The only time it will moves with any speed is when it's climbing up a tree.

Upside Down Life[]

Two-Toed Sloth Back Image

Upside down is just right for the two-toed sloth.

The two-toed sloth spends most of its life in trees and hangs upside down! The creature grips branches and thick vines with its curved claws and inches along as it feeds on leaves, fruit and bark. The sloth even sleeps upside down, secured by its strong grip, and using a branch from below on which it can rest its back. The slow mammal moves enough to find a new tree to sleep in each night; it comes down to the ground only when it needs to relieve itself.

How Slow is It? The sloth moves so slowly that algae have time to grow in special grooves in the animal's fur. The algae helps camouflage the sloth by giving it a greenish hue, and it can even be eaten by the animal if needed.

Likes it Hot: Unlike most mammals, the two-toed sloth's body temperature varies wildly with the temperature of the air around it. The animal has to stay in a tropical climate; if it gets too cold, its organs will shut down and the sloth will die.

Sloth Stalker[]

  1. On occasion a two-toed sloth will climb down from a tree. It clumsily walks onto solid ground. Little does it know that it's being stalked by an ocelot.
  1. The ocelot doesn't hesitate to pounce on the slow animal, and easily knocks it over. The sloth fights back, slashing wildly at the ocelot with its long, curved claws.
  1. Surprised by the sloth's defenses, the ocelot runs away. Now safe, the sloth relieves itself on the ground, then quickly climbs back up to safety.

Trivia[]

  • The card's front illustration is also used in the Wildlife Explorer series, for the Two-Toed Sloth's profile. The main difference is the image is flipped, facing to the right on the Wildlife Explorer card.
    • It also shares the image of the sloth hanging from the branches on the back, and the "Sloth Stalker" images. The latter, titled "Visiting the Underworld", has an additional third image of the sloth climbing back up the tree.
  • The two-toed sloth is featured in Savage Serengeti on Monster Mania 92.
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