It is International Sloth Day!

Facts(dot)net tells us, "The slowest animal on the planet is native in Latin America  rainforests where they spend their days sleeping and hanging upside down on trees. But there is so much more to discover about sloths than just being couch potato gods in the modern world. Get ready to see these sloth facts you most probably did not know . . ."

• One of the lesser-known sloth facts is all sloth species actually have three claws or toes. The two-toed species only has two claws on their front legs, but three on their back legs. Whereas the three-toed sloths have three at both the front and the back.
• According to San Diego Zoo, sloths from 10,000 years ago possibly reached an elephant’s size. Skeletons from the extinct species called “Megatherium” were found which led to this theory.
• Since green algae naturally grow on a sloth’s fur for water and shelter, the algae provide natural camouflage for sloths and give off extra nutrients and vitamins via the sloth’s skin.
• Sloths have impressive biology with their organs being attached to rib cages. This means they are weightless down to the lungs making it easy for them to hang and breathe naturally in an inverted position.
• One of the most known sloth facts is they are the slowest  animal in the world. This also includes digesting food! A sloth’s stomach has multi-compartments which allows them to digest the cellulose which they consume, and takes no less than 30 days.

You will find more very interesting Sloth facts at this link and can learn more about them in my book, Blue Dragons, Red Pandas, Hoopoes & More!

So, on this International Sloth Day, learn about Sloths, gather the ones you love and celebrate! You will find fun ideas for ways to celebrate sloths at this link from Nationaltoday(dot)com.