Sloths are the slowest mammals on earth. It takes a full minute for a sloth to move 6 feet across the ground. You probably couldn’t move that slowly if you tried! The sloth’s body is about 2 feet long. It has long legs, and curved claws that are 3 to 4 inches long. Their claws and their long legs help them climb trees and hang from tree branches. They spend almost their entire lives hanging from tree branches. The life of a sloth is not very exciting.

Sloths have a round head, small ears, a stubby tail, and sad-looking eyes set in a dark-colored “mask.” The shape of a sloth’s mouth makes it look like it is always smiling. It has extra bones in its neck that make it possible for it to turn its head almost all the way around. Sloths are very cute to look at, but they don’t put on much of a show.

Sloths are home to other plants and creatures. Tiny plants grow on the sloth’s fur, making the animals appear to be green. This green color makes the sloths almost invisible against the green leaves of the trees they live in. Moths and insects also live in the sloth’s fur. Maybe the sloths move so little and so seldom that the small creatures that live on them don’t even know they are animals.

Sloths are home to other plants and creatures. Tiny plants grow on the sloth’s fur, making the animals appear to be green. This green color makes the sloths almost invisible against the green leaves of the trees they live in. Moths and insects also live in the sloth’s fur. Maybe the sloths move so little and so seldom that the small creatures that live on them don’t even know they are animals.

It was beginning to get dark. We were still not home yet. I bet Dad was going to be mad at us, I thought. I yelled at my brother to ride his bike faster, but it was difficult to ride bikes uphill. I was so tired that every muscle in my legs was burning. My brother finally got off his bike and sat down. I stopped and went back to help him. Suddenly, there was a car coming toward us. I could see headlights. It was Dad. He had come to look for us, since we were so late getting home. I knew I was going to get into trouble, but at least we were safe. Dad picked us up and took us home.

Is it an ant, you wonder, or a termite? Ants resemble termites, but they are quite different and can be easily distinguished. In contrast to termites, ants are usually dark in color, are hard bodied, and have constriction between the thorax and abdomen. Termites are light in color and shed their wings. Flying ants do not shed their wings. Also, ants and termites belong to different orders.