39 Of The Cutest Sloth Pics To Celebrate International Sloth Day

To find out more about these incredible animals, we spoke with Sam Trull, co-founder and director at The Sloth Institute, the non-profit organization specializing in rescue, research and education with a particular focus on the behavior, health, and welfare of released, wild and captive sloths.

It turns out that sloths are an important part of the larger ecosystem and the smaller ecosystem that happens in their fur, Sam said. “On a larger scale, sloths are the main prey species for many predators (sadly) and also can help disperse some seeds in the forest (for trees like guarumo). In addition, because of the ecosystem that they have in their hair (algae, fungus, moths, beetles, etc.) they disperse these smaller organisms around the forest as well. Sloths may be slow... but they are faster than algae,” she explained.

When asked what makes these beautiful creatures so slow, Sam said that it’s because they can conserve energy and also so they can go undetected in the forest. “By being slow they are super quiet and it makes it much harder for a predator to find them. Sometimes when our researchers are out in the forest, it can be easy to lose a sloth if you look away for a few minutes and don't know which way they went...because you can't hear which way they went!” 

“In addition, having the slowest metabolism of any mammal, by being slow, sloths exert less energy when they move which is an important way to save energy. They also don't bring in a lot of calories since their diets consist of mostly plant materials,” Sam explained.

Sadly, sloths face a lot of threats in our modern world that often don’t get as much spotlight as they need. It turns out that there are 6 species of sloths and 2 of those species are threatened as defined by the IUCN (International Union on Conservation and Nature).  

“The pygmy sloth is found only on one island off the coast of Panama and is considered critically endangered and the maned sloth is found only in one part of forest on the Atlantic coast of Brazil and is considered vulnerable by the IUCN. The other species of sloths are considered 'least concern' by the IUCN.”

“However, I always say that just because sloths are not considered endangered does not mean that they are not IN danger,” Sam said and added: “Sloths all over their habitat range face many threats.”

“The main threat, of course, being habitat destruction (both large scale and small scale), climate change (the food they eat relies on a delicate balance of the right amount of rain and sun), and, of course, human threats to their environment like being electrocuted by uninsulated power lines or attacked by roaming dogs, hit by cars, etc.”

People can help sloths by donating to non-profits like The Sloth Institute that save sloths in the wild. “But the biggest thing that EVERYONE can do is educate themselves on the threats that sloths face and how to be a responsible sloth tourist,” Sam said.

“Sloths are very popular these days. This might lead someone to think that popularity is a good thing... but for sloths, being popular is actually bad in many ways. They are often exploited for encounter experiences/tourist opportunities to hold them and touch them, to take 'selfies' with them.”

Sam continued: “All of these activities are not only stressful to the sloth in the experience but they also are directly leading to sloths being taken from the wild and babies being taken away from their mothers. There are some responsible zoos that have sloths in their care, but there are many places that are not ethical and actually purchase sloths from people who steal them from the wild.”

Sam urges everyone, before visiting a facility with a sloth, to always ask where it came from and if they are showing babies alone without their mothers. “That is a BIG red flag that the place is not ethical. Never pay to touch, feed, hold or take photos with sloths,” she concluded.

Labeled as the world's laziest animal for decades, sloths are far from simple! We've found some facts on The Sloth Conservation Foundation page written by leading sloth expert Rebecca Cliffe, and have decided to share them with you - so keep on reading. 

First of all, the sloths of our day have evolved from giant ground sloths; the tallest of them was around 6 meters high. Suddenly not so cute and innocent, huh? There's also evidence suggesting that several sloth species lived underwater and fed on seagrass. Maybe that's why, to this day, sloths are excellent swimmers? 

No human could defeat a sloth in an arm-wrestling match - though seemingly feeble, sloths are actually three times stronger than an average person! Moreover, thanks to a highly specialized muscle arrangement, sloths can withstand the force of a jaguar that's set out to rip it out of a tree. And, due to their ability to lock certain tendons, sloths can hang onto branches without wasting any energy. This locking mechanism is so powerful that sloths might be left hanging onto the tree even after their death.

Sloths have notoriously bad vision - they see poorly in dim light and are completely blind when it's bright! However, these adorable tree-climbers compensate for it with an excellent sense of smell and a top-notch spatial memory. It is thought that their lousy eyesight adds to their slowness, and it only makes sense when you think of it; nobody in their right might would scurry through branches without clearly seeing what's in front of them!

Fights between two male sloths most often end with the losing party falling out of a tree. No worries, though! A sloth’s unique physique is designed to withstand falls from up to 100 feet without sustaining any injuries. That's like jumping off a ten-story building and casually walking away upon landing. And though scientists have managed to find out this exotic detail about a sloth’s life, nobody really knows their exact lifespan. Considering that sloths don't do well in captivity, but the oldest zoo-kept sloth is around 50 years old, experts think that they live much longer in the wilderness. It once again proves that a slow-paced and relaxed way of life is the key to longevity. At least, I believe so.

If you'd like to read even more about our beloved cute sloths, don't forget to visit The Sloth Conservation Foundation - its founder, Rebecca Cliffe, is the leading expert on everything about sloths, and her knowledge is invaluable. Just be warned that you might accidentally end up adopting a sloth!