Perhaps our favorite animal in the rainforest is the sloth. These slow moving animals, related to anteaters, are endless fun to watch hang out in the trees.

The sloth is the slowest mammal on Earth. Sloths are arboreal animals, which means that they spend most of their lives hanging upside-down from tree branches.

Sloths eat leaves, young trees, and fruit. It is a good thing that they do not eat meat, because I do not think that sloths would be very good hunters.

Many scientists feel that sloths are slow for their own protection. A predator has a hard time seeing a sloth, because most predatory animals' eyes concentrate on movement to locate their prey. If a sloth does not move, chances are that a predator will just keep moving.

A sloth also has great camouflage. Sloths have developed a relationship with algae. Because the sloth moves so slowly, combing its hair is out of the question. However, by not brushing its fur, a sloth allows algae to grow. Algae is greenish brown, and therefore helps the sloth to blend perfectly into the rainforest.

For further exploration, check out these web sites. Wilderness Classroom's Rainforest Library

National Geographic's Animal Facts, Photos, and Sounds

Enchanted Learning: Sloth