Sloths

I have a question; my brother and I recently got into an argument about sloths. He thinks that sloths are completely defenseless, that they are slow always and will not even fight back/can't hurt you. I disagreed, though I don't really have anything to back it up, I just can't believe that sloths would be completely defenseless.

My question; are sloths dangerous to humans? Can they swing fast enough to strike or hurt a human with their claws or teeth?

Thanks in advance!

Sloths are not inherently defenseless; their primary means of escaping predation being their upside-down arboreal lifestyle. They are also able to strike with their claws, which can cause injuries to attackers (though this acts more as a deterrent, sloths not being extremely accurate).

This website is a cute short little factfile about sloths;
http://www.geocities.com/lady_brooke_lynn/Slo...
It says that sloths let algae grow on their fur as a form of camoflague which helps them to hide from predators.

Thonoir wrote:

Sloths are not inherently defenseless; their primary means of escaping predation being their upside-down arboreal lifestyle. They are also able to strike with their claws, which can cause injuries to attackers (though this acts more as a deterrent, sloths not being extremely accurate).

When I did some “behinds the scenes work” for the Knoxville Zoo, I worked with three toed sloths. We had two males, and I was told that if these slow moving, docile, seemingly harmless fellows decided to fight, just to step back and let’em at it. Trying to separate them would be dangerous.

I would have a sloth easy!

The 3 toed sloth may be a slow striker but what it lacks in power it more than makes up for in dirtiness. The 3 toed sloths sedintary lifestyle makes the sloth's claws the perfect breeding ground for a rare type of bacteria that evolution has rendered them immune to. Very few attackers, however, are immune to this bacteria. Once infected with this bacteria, symptoms of the paralyzing disease Pleistocenearitis can be observed within minutes. So any body that believes a sloth is helpless, may this study suggest other wise. Source: International Journal of Mammalian Research.

Anita wrote:

The 3 toed sloth may be a slow striker but what it lacks in power it more than makes up for in dirtiness. The 3 toed sloths sedintary lifestyle makes the sloth's claws the perfect breeding ground for a rare type of bacteria that evolution has rendered them immune to. Very few attackers, however, are immune to this bacteria. Once infected with this bacteria, symptoms of the paralyzing disease Pleistocenearitis can be observed within minutes. So any body that believes a sloth is helpless, may this study suggest other wise. Source: International Journal of Mammalian Research.

Wow! Very good find Anita! I never knew that. What an interesting and extreme example symbioses between tiny bacteria and a larger organism. Do you subscribe to the Journal of Mammalian Research? It's a highly expensive but yet invaluable resource.

Pleistocenearitis, sound like something paleontologist get when they spend to much time studying the Pleistocene era ! I’m sorry I had to, he,he. Couldn’t help myself!

I went slothbob.com , there where sloths drinking beer there, I wonder if they are violent drunks??

sloths are not dangerous to humans actually they like humans they get attached to humans very easy they are a loving animal and i would like to know if anyone knows a place that sells them i knnow of one place but want to do a little more reasearch of the priceing of them

Well, I wouldn't want a sloth to get it's poop on me.

I once found a sloth in my backyard. He was just laying there. He was on the floor in my yard. He is still there. Should i move it?