Scientific Name
Bradypodidae

Appearance
They have long gray or brown hair that blends in well with the surrounding environment, making it difficult for preditors, such as the jaguar, to see them. This hair curves in the opposite direction of most other mammals: from the stomach to the back. Their hair is often covered with a coat of blue-green algae during the rainy season. This algae provides camouflage. They grow to a length of between one and a half and two and a half feet [in about 2 1/2 years]. Their ancestor, the Giant Ground Sloth, which lived before the last ice age, reached the size of a modern elephant.

Range
Living in South and Central America, these animals spend almost all of their lives hanging and walking upside down from tree branches.

Diet
They eat leaves and buds. The two-toed species also eat twigs, fruits, and small prey. Their low rate of metabolism enables them to live on relatively little food. They do not have incisors and crop leaves with their hard lips. Their teeth grow continuously, as they are worn down by the grinding of their food. They don't drink but get their water from eating juicy leaves & licking dewdrops.

Defense
They can defend themselves with sharp claws, but their main form of protection is their camouflage. Predators, beside people, include large snakes, harpy and other birds. Also, jaguars and ocelots are a danger when the sloth is on the ground. On the ground it pulls its body along because it can't walk on its feet. Surprisingly, sloths are good swimmers.

Gestation/Birth
A sloth's gestation period is almost six months. The newborn is about 10 inches [25 cm] long, and weighs about 12 oz [350g]. It clings to its mother until about 5 weeks old.

Life Span
The probable maximun sloth lifespan is between 30 and 40 years. Some sloths in zoos have reached these ages.

Activity
They do most things upside down: eat, sleep [an average of 15 hours per day], mate, and give birth. Because of their upside down life, many of their internal organs [liver, stomach, spleen, pancreas] are in different positions from other mammals.

On the Ground
During the rare times they go down to the ground [such as to change trees for food], they move along by dragging themselves by their hands. They can stand on their feet, but cannot walk on them.