Have you heard sloths ‘talk’ to each other? No? We also haven’t, until now. In an adorable video, two sloths can be seen hanging upside down on a pole. Their tiny noses and little faces are to die for. But wait till you hear their little ‘mehhhs.’ They will surely melt your heart. [1]
The video, which was posted on YouTube, has garnered over 12 million views and 277,000 likes, and users can’t get enough of its adorableness.
Some of the comments include:
“My god, my new spirit animal is the sloth. Look at their tiny noses, and they sound like cats. Awwww I can’t they’re too cute.”
“Omg these little creatures are so beautiful and adorable! I want to play and mother one right now”
‘Not long enough’
“ThIS VIDEO is not LONG ENOUGH! It’s the cutest. My heart stops at the end every time!”
“I thought I was a really harsh and strong individual but looking at this. I question it.”
“I am literally dying. Sloths are my favorite animals, besides giraffes, and I still can never get over their cute little ‘eeehhhhhh.’ Those are literally the sounds I make to everything.”
While we certainly don’t understand what they are saying, there’s no denying how adorable these cuties are. [2]
Facts About Sloths
Sloths are extremely slow-moving mammals found in the rainforest canopies of Central and South America. They travel no more than 125 feet (38 meters) in a single day, and when they find themselves at ground level, they crawl only 1 foot (30 cm) per minute. They are so slow that algae grow on their bodies, giving them additional camouflage. [3]
Although sloths possess long claws that make walking on land difficult, they are good swimmers and can move three times faster on water. They can also hold their breath for 40 minutes by pressing their metabolism to make their heart rate three times slower than usual. [4]
There are two different types of sloths, two-toed and three-toed, and six species:
- Pygmy three-toed sloth
- Pale-throated sloth
- Brown-throated sloth
- Maned sloth
- Hoffman’s two-toed sloth
- Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth
Of all the species, the pygmy sloth is critically endangered and likely to go extinct before 2022.
The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica
The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica is a rescue center for injured, orphaned, and abandoned sloths. Founded by Judy Avey-Arroyo and Luis Arroyo, it was built to help people realize the importance of these animals.
The 320-acre lush, tropical, lowland rainforest, which was formerly inhabited by banana plantations, was originally known as Aviarios del Caribe. The property was officially declared a privately-owned, biological reserve by the government of Costa Rica in 1975.
In 1997, The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica was officially authorized as a rescue center. The mission of the Sloth Sanctuary is the rescue, research, rehabilitation, and, when possible, the release of sloths. They also educate people about conserving the rainforest, the sloths’ natural habitat.
References:
- “Baby Sloths Are Having A Conversation And The Internet Is Weak In The Knees.” Retrieved from Healthy Food House. May 2019.
- Morgan, N. “The Internet Has Fallen in Love with These Baby Sloths Having A Conversation (Video).” Retrieved from Before Its News. May 2019.
- Lax, Aaron. “10 facts about sloths, nature’s slowest animals.” Retrieved from World Animal Protection. November 2017.
- “Saving the sloths.” UN Environment. May 2018.
- “What Does A Sloth Say?” YouTube. July 2014.
- Sloth Sanctuary.