It’s International Sloth Day

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s a great day to be lazy! October 20 is International Sloth Day.

People all around the world are celebrating the adorable, slow-moving mammal.

To celebrate, we wanted to share some fun facts with you!

• Sloths are great swimmers and can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes underwater.
• Sloths only go to the bathroom once a week and when they go, it’s in the same exact spot.
• Algae and fungus grow on a sloth’s course thick fur.
• Thanks to extra vertebrae in their spine, sloths can rotate their head 270 degrees in either direction.
• Sloths have protruding finger bones that are four-inches long.
• Sloths love their alone time and don’t spend a lot of time with other sloths.
• On average, sloths live between 20 to 30 years.
• A sloth’s stomach has four compartments and it takes up to a month to digest one meal.
• Sloths resemble monkeys or bears but their closest relatives are the armadillo and anteater.
• Sloths sleep up to 20 hours every day.

Did you know you can interact with sloths at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine?