Amazonas: Sloths

Sloths are some of the most unusual and bizarre animals in the world and two species of them live in the Amazon rainforest. Named after one of the deadly sins – they are very slow – moving at about 3 meters per minute when in the trees. The slow movement is a way to conserve energy as their diet of leaves has very little calories. Their metabolic system is extremely slow, and they can lower their body temperature to slow it down even further. At any time, about 2/3 of the sloth’s body weight is actually the digestive matter inside its stomach. They spend all their lives in the trees, descending only once a week to poop (and that’s where they are vulnerable for predation). I saw a total of 6 sloths, one of them very close, and another with a small baby clinging to the parent.
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