ONE OF THE WORLD’S SLOWEST MOVING MAMMALS, MANY PEOPLE THINK SLOTHS ARE LAZY. IN FACT, THEIR SUPER-SLOW SPEED IS AN IMPORTANT ADAPTATION THAT HELPS THEM SURVIVE.

Sloths keep a gentle pace to help them go unseen by predators, such as harpy eagles and jaguars, who watch for moving prey when they hunt. But these adorable animals take leisure to the next level, moving slow enough for algae and fungi to grow on their fur, creating micro-biomes of life.

Who’s at the Zoo

Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth and Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth