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West Indian Sloths and Two-Toed Tree Sloths: Megalonychidae

Two-toed Tree Sloths And People

From the earliest times, people probably hunted ground sloths for food and used their fur pelts to make clothing. Scientists study West Indian sloth fossils to learn how these animals evolved and changed over thousands of years. Two-toed sloths were occasionally hunted for their meat.


SLOW BUT NOT LAZY

Sloth is often understood to mean laziness, an undesirable trait. The word "sloth" is a version of the word "slow," which better describes sloths. Their limbs can't support their bodies, so sloths drag themselves on the ground at the rate of 45 feet (13.7 meters) per minute. In trees, sloths move no more than 125 feet (38 meters) per day.

Additional topics

Animal Life ResourceMammalsWest Indian Sloths and Two-Toed Tree Sloths: Megalonychidae - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Two-toed Tree Sloths And People, Hoffman's Two-toed Sloth (choloepus Hoffmanni): Species Account - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, CONSERVA