The Pale Throated Three Toed Sloth is a very odd and unique animal, all at the same time.  The Sloth is very slow and it’s still able to evade getting eaten.  Also, it helps other organisms survive.  Thirdly, The Pale Throated Sloth  has some characteristics that are similar to common house-hold pets, but they have some differences.  Lastly, they have adapted to their environment in many ways to make their lives easier.

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The average Pale Throated Sloth is about 1.5 to 2.5 ft long, which is similar to a small dog or cat.  They have long, coarse, grey, and dirty green colored fur. They have green colored fur because of the moss that grows on them.  The Sloth has a very small tail.  Also, it has no external ears, but it still has great hearing.  They have a blunt nose and a decent sense of smell.  Lastly, they have 3 long sharp claws on all of their feet. 

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The Pale Throated Sloth is able to evade being eaten because it lives very high in trees and has long sharp claws, and the green fur helps to camouflage the sloth.  Its main predators are the Jaguar, Harpy Eagle, and humans.  Jaguars are huge threats because they can climb very high in trees.  The Harpy Eagle is able to swoop down and grab a sloth quickly without warning.  Humans are threats because we are constantly destroying their homes.  Even with these dangerous predators, the Pale Throated Three Toed Sloth is classified as a Lower Risk animal.

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A huge reason why the Pale Throated Sloth thrives in its environment is how well it has adapted to its environment.  Its most noticeable adaptations are its long claws that help in many ways.  The Sloth uses them for fighting away predators, climbing trees, and hanging effortlessly.  The Three Toed Sloth is able to hang from tree branches and use hardly any energy.

 

Their hearing also is a great adaptation as they are able to hear when most predators are coming for them.

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The Pale Throated Three Toed Sloth is a very odd animal that knows how to not get eaten even though it is horribly slow.  Secondly, they aid other organisms.  Also, they are very similar to many pets that live with people. Lastly they are very well adapted to their environment which helps them survive and thrive.  In a very strange comparison, the Pale Throated Three Toed Sloth is similar to many of the other surviving animals of our day; it uses its strengths to balance out its weaknesses and adapts to make sure that it keeps on surviving each day.

 

Author: Christian D

Published: 2/2011

 

Works Cited

Sartore, Joel. A Three Toed Sloth. 2006. Photograph. National Geograpic.

 

Briggs, Hellen. "Sloth." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 13 May 2008. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloth>.

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"Pale-Throated Three-Toed Sloth." Learn Animals - A Library of the Worlds Animals. 2006. Web. 10 Feb. 2011. <http://www.learnanimals.com/pale-throated-three-toed-sloth/>.

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Dickman, Christopher R. "Three-toed Sloth." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-toed_sloth>.

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Gardner, Alfred, Don E. Wilson, and DeeAnn M. Reeder. "Pale-throated_Three-toed_Sloth Mythical-Buddies.com." Mythical-Buddies.com. Johns Hopkins University Press, 16 Nov. 2005. Web. 31 Jan. 2011. <http://www.mythical-buddies.com/index.php?q=Pale-throated_Three-toed_Sloth>.

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Gilmore D., MC. Barros, and L. Fountain. "Banner." BioWeb Home. 10 Apr. 2008. Web. 01 Feb. 2011. <http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/thomas_joe/Adaptation Guidone, Julie. Sloths. Pleasantville, NY: Weekly Reader, 2009. Print.