Professional FPS / BR player. Former: Luminosity, Echo Fox. This is a compilation of the FUNNIEST and CUTEST sloth videos. Sloths are named after the capital sin of sloth because they seem slow and lazy at first glanc. Social Sloth Cafe is a Turkish family owned business, a cozy place to gather where home-made, cooked fresh daily food is served. It is an artisan bakery, serving ethnic Turkish flavors inspired with a Mediterranean touch. Sloth-Lab is a development company for IT services and products, based in Akouda, Sousse. Sloth is a Cloudflare Worker code generator and manager, developed with the purpose of making Edge SEO more accessible and to help SEOs and marketers overcome SEO hurdles.

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Sloth, (suborder Phyllophaga), tree-dwelling mammal noted for its slowness of movement. All five living species are limited to the lowland tropical forests of South and Central America, where they can be found high in the forest canopy sunning, resting, or feeding on leaves. Although two-toed sloths (family Megalonychidae) are capable of climbing and positioning themselves vertically, they spend almost all of their time hanging horizontally, using their large hooklike extremities to move along branches and vines. Three-toed sloths (family Bradypodidae) move in the same way but often sit in the forks of trees rather than hanging from branches.

What kind of animal is a sloth?

Sloths are mammals. They are part of the order Pilosa, which is also home to anteaters. Together with armadillos, sloths and anteaters form the magnorder Xenarthra.

How many types of sloths are there?

A total of five species of sloths exist: the pygmy three-toed sloth, the maned sloth, the pale-throated three-toed sloth, the brown-throated three-toed sloth, and Linnaeus's two-toed sloth. All sloths are either two-toed or three-toed.

Where do sloths live?

Sloths live in the lowland tropical areas of South and Central America. They spend most of their life in the forest canopy. Two-toed sloths tend to hang horizontally from branches, while three-toed sloths often sit in the forks of trees.

What do sloths eat?

Sloths are omnivores. Because they spend most of their time in trees, they like to munch on leaves, twigs, flowers, and other foliage, though some species may eat insects and other small animals.

Why are sloths so slow?

Sloths are slow because of their diet and metabolic rate. They eat a low-calorie diet consisting exclusively of plants, and they metabolize at a rate that is only 40–45 percent of what is expected for mammals of their weight. Sloths must move slowly to conserve energy.

Sloths have long legs, stumpy tails, and rounded heads with inconspicuous ears. Although they possess colour vision, sloths’ eyesight and hearing are not very acute; orientation is mainly by touch. The limbs are adapted for suspending the body rather than supporting it. As a result, sloths are completely helpless on the ground unless there is something to grasp. Even then, they are able only to drag themselves along with their claws. They are surprisingly good swimmers. Generally nocturnal, sloths are solitary and are aggressive toward others of the same sex.

Sloths have large multichambered stomachs and an ability to tolerate strong chemicals from the foliage they eat. The leafy food is digested slowly; a fermenting meal may take up to a week to process. The stomach is constantly filled, its contents making up about 30 percent of the sloth’s weight. Sloths descend to the ground at approximately six-day intervals to urinate and defecate (see Sidebar: A moving habitat). Physiologically, sloths are heterothermic—that is, they have imperfect control over their body temperature. Normally ranging between 25 and 35 °C (77 and 95 °F), body temperature may drop to as low as 20 °C (68 °F). At this temperature the animals become torpid. Although heterothermicity makes sloths very sensitive to temperature change, they have thick skin and are able to withstand severe injuries.

All sloths were formerly classified in the same family (Bradypodidae), but two-toed sloths have been found to be so different from three-toed sloths that they are now classified in a separate family (Megalonychidae).

Three-toed sloths

The three-toed sloth (family Bradypodidae) is also called the ai in Latin America because of the high-pitched cry it produces when agitated. All four species belong to the same genus, Bradypus, and the coloration of their short facial hair bestows them with a perpetually smiling expression. The brown-throated three-toed sloth (B. variegatus) occurs in Central and South America from Honduras to northern Argentina; the pale-throated three-toed sloth (B. tridactylus) is found in northern South America; the maned sloth (B. torquatus) is restricted to the small Atlantic forest of southeastern Brazil; and the pygmy three-toed sloth (B. pygmaeus) inhabits the Isla Escudo de Veraguas, a small Caribbean island off the northwestern coast of Panama.

Although most mammals have seven neck vertebrae, three-toed sloths have eight or nine, which permits them to turn their heads through a 270° arc. The teeth are simple pegs, and the upper front pair are smaller than the others; incisor and true canine teeth are lacking. Adults weigh only about 4 kg (8.8 pounds), and the young weigh less than 1 kg (2.2 pounds), possibly as little as 150–250 grams (about 5–9 ounces) at birth. (The birth weight of B. torquatus, for example, is only 300 grams [about 11 ounces].) The head and body length of three-toed sloths averages 58 cm (23 inches), and the tail is short, round, and movable. The forelimbs are 50 percent longer than the hind limbs; all four feet have three long, curved sharp claws. Sloths’ coloration makes them difficult to spot, even though they are very common in some areas. The outer layer of shaggy long hair is pale brown to gray and covers a short, dense coat of black-and-white underfur. The outer hairs have many cracks, perhaps caused by the algae living there. The algae give the animals a greenish tinge, especially during the rainy season. Sexes look alike in the maned sloth, but in the other species males have a large patch (speculum) in the middle of the back that lacks overhair, thus revealing the black dorsal stripe and bordering white underfur, which is sometimes stained yellow to orange. The maned sloth gets its name from the long black hair on the back of its head and neck.

Three-toed sloths, although mainly nocturnal, may be active day or night but spend only about 10 percent of their time moving at all. They sleep either perched in the fork of a tree or hanging from a branch, with all four feet bunched together and the head tucked in on the chest. In this posture the sloth resembles a clump of dead leaves, so inconspicuous that it was once thought these animals ate only the leaves of cecropia trees because in other trees it went undetected. Research has since shown that they eat the foliage of a wide variety of other trees and vines. Locating food by touch and smell, the sloth feeds by hooking a branch with its claws and pulling it to its mouth. Sloths’ slow movements and mainly nocturnal habits generally do not attract the attention of predators such as jaguars and harpy eagles. Normally, three-toed sloths are silent and docile, but if disturbed they can strike out furiously with the sharp foreclaws.

Reproduction is seasonal in the brown- and pale-throated species; the maned sloth may breed throughout the year. Reproduction in pygmy three-toed sloths, however, has not yet been observed. A single young is born after less than six months’ gestation. Newborn sloths cling to the mother’s abdomen and remain with the mother until at least five months of age. Three-toed sloths are so difficult to maintain in captivity that little is known about their breeding behaviour and other aspects of their life history.

By Father Reginald Martin, O.P.

WHAT IS SLOTH?

Our dictionary defines sloth as “an aversion to work or exertion; laziness; indolence.” These words reasonably arouse the scorn of anyone committed to making a productive contribution to society. They may likewise excite our indignation when we observe a co-worker or family member failing to bear a reasonable share in a common enterprise. However, this definition does not penetrate the spiritual reality of the sin we call sloth.

THE SIN OF SLOTH

What distinguishes the sin of sloth from merely wasting time playing video games or watching the tenth rerun of a television series is the part sadness plays in it, and its rejection of God’s love. These distinguishing characteristics require some clarification, so let us turn, for a moment, to our Scripture, where the author of the Book of Ecclesiasticus urges us to

Put [our] shoulder under [Divine Wisdom] and…do not fret under her bonds…when you get hold of her, do not let her go. For at last you will find the rest she gives, and she will be changed into joy for you. (Ecclus. 6: 27)

In the Latin text, “fretting” is described as acedia, which means moroseness or sadness, even peevishness. None of these should be confused with the mere laziness of the dictionary definition – or with clinical depression, which, because it is a physical/ psychological illness, is not sinful. St. Thomas Aquinas refers to some unnamed sources “who say that sloth is a sluggishness of the mind which neglects to begin good.”(ST, II-II, 35, 1) He adds,

Since, then, spiritual good is a good in very truth, sorrow about spiritual good is evil in itself. And yet that sorrow also which is about a real evil, is evil in its effect, if it so oppresses a man as to draw him away entirely from good deeds.

Sloth Bear

A DOUBLE AILMENT

This means the lassitude of sloth is a two-fold sin. First, because it rejects a spiritual good – God’s love – and secondly because it encourages us to refrain from employing that good in our relations with God and one another. Our Catechism observes,

Faith in God’s love encompasses the call and the obligation to respond with sincere love to divine charity. The first commandment enjoins us to love God above everything and all creatures for him and because of him…One can sin against God’s love in various ways…acedia or spiritual sloth goes so far as to refuse the joy that comes from God and to be repelled by divine goodness. (CCC, No. 2093, 2094)

WHY EMBRACE SLOTH?

One might reasonably shirk some of the more onerous responsibilities of our Christian vocation, simply because, occasionally, at least, they seem so difficult and challenging. Doing nothing might seem a far more attractive option than practicing some of the works of mercy. However, why would anyone turn from God’s love and willingly embrace spiritual sadness in its place?

The Church’s classic theologians offer a number of answers. One is succumbing to simple physical strain. Psalm 90 (91) describes the happiness of the individual who trusts in God, and, as a result, has no fear of – among other ills – “the scourge that lays waste at noon.” Early religious writers interpreted this “scourge” as sloth, the ho-hum midday weariness that besets someone who has been fasting. Although this manifestation of sloth was historically identified most frequently among hermits, and others committed to the contemplative life, any of us may find our prayer life boring or unproductive, and this can lead to our grumbling “What’s the point?” If we allow the question to go unanswered – unchallenged – we may easily find ourselves turning aside from prayer and wallowing in a sea of self-pity.

Another cause of sloth is allowing ourselves to get so caught up with the demands of our everyday lives that we feel we “have no time” for the deep intimacy our faith tells us we must cultivate with God. This “busy-ness” may seem to contradict the notion of sloth as a form of lethargy, but if we allow our work or other responsibilities to impinge upon our spiritual life, we may find ourselves turning away from prayer, unhappily identifying it as simply one more tiring claim upon our already over-booked calendar.

THE REMEDIES: REMEMBER THE SABBATH

Sloth triumphs when we remove or omit God from our moral landscape. The Third Commandment tells us

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath day to the Lord, your God; in it you shall not do any work….

Slotomania

This is not an invitation to do nothing; it is a command to imitate God, who rested – not from being God, which would have been impossible, but from the work of creation. This is far from the unhappy lassitude that identifies sloth. To surrender to a Sabbath rest is to take advantage of the opportunity to embrace the hallowed leisure of the Lord’s Day, and to find one more source of joy in our relations with God.

KEEPING WATCH: STUDY

Our Catechism lays blame for acedia on “lax ascetical practice, decreasing vigilance, carelessness of heart.” (CCC, No. 2733) Embracing the discipline of spiritual reading is one way to attack these ills, and we might begin by approaching the Scripture. Modern media also come to our assistance in this quest, and we can find “on line” copies of our Holy Father’s reflections – as well as the teaching of other Church authorities – with very little difficulty.

PRAYER

Study is an unquestionably valuable undertaking, but the modern Catholic may be pressed to find time for little more than a casual glance at a missal to learn what readings will appear on the following Sunday. Challenging ourselves to be more diligent in prayer is another way to fight sloth, and prayer has the advantage of being accessible at any time. Kevin Vost, author of The Seven Deadly Sins, quotes St. John Climacus, who addressed sloth thus

“You there! You crass and sluggish creature…Who are your enemies? Who can destroy you?” And tedium may be constrained to reply…”The singing of psalms and manual labor are my opponents by whom I am now bound…what really slays me is prayer backed by a firm hope in the blessings of the future.” (The Seven Deadly Sins, Ch. 8, “Slashing Sloth”)

Ora et labora, “prayer and work” are keystones of the monastic vocation, and the monastic schedule clearly sets aside time for each. If it is faithfully embraced – especially if it is embraced as a sign on earth of the life we may look forward to in heaven – the monastic vocation should put sloth to rout. We have seen that this is not the case, however. If those called to the exalted planes of religious life can fall prey to sloth, what benefit shall the average lay person derive from Climacus’ words?

PRAYER ALWAYS AND EVERYWHERE

Making time for prayer may seem as daunting a task as setting aside time for study – not to mention manual labor – so Vost adds,

Does even the time, energy and focus required by the Divine Office or the Holy Rosary leave you with feelings of listlessness and fatigue? Then why not start with simple prayers? Even a prayer as short and simple as the Sign of the Cross, if prayed with an earnest heart, can start to send sloth into retreat. Indeed, some of the most zealous saints prayed it and signed it many times throughout each day. It is hard to let your mind wander after unlawful things when you are repeatedly praying that all of your thoughts, word, and deeds may be done, “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Ibid.)

AN ADDED BENEFIT OF PRAYER

We may not immediately identify prayer with justice, but our theology teaches the virtue of justice is giving to others what they deserve. Prayer is one of the acts that is God’s due; to pray not only draws us closer to God – and further away from sloth – but enables us to practice one of the Cardinal Virtues, those good habits that are opposed to the Cardinal Sins we have been considering for the past year in these reflections.

THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

Our author suggests that seeking out the confessional is the frosting on the spiritual cake that delivers us from sloth. Sloth encourages us to do nothing, to care about nothing, to behave as if nothing matters but our own discontent. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is an opportunity to address, and triumph over, each of those temptations. The reason for this is quite simple: the Sacrament of Reconciliation demands our active participation. To enjoy its benefits we must bestir ourselves, abandon our lethargy, and approach the confessional. If we are to receive the sacrament worthily, we must engage in at least a cursory examination of our life: what have I done, what have I failed to do? What do I wish I had done differently? Finally, we must be willing to embrace the challenge to change. We may not be the most enthusiastic of penitents, but seeking the Sacrament of Reconciliation is to take a giant step away from the mire of sloth.

THE EXAMPLE OF MARY

Ronald Knox, a spiritual writer from the last century, composed a retreat in which he asked individuals to consider the calm, the quiet, and the serenity of the Virgin Mary. As we consider these qualities while meditating in church, they may seem very positive recommendations, but in these days of immediate, electronic gratification, quiet and calm people can often be mistaken for depressed, lazy lethargic – or slothful. So Knox helpfully points out the calm individual’s “knack of putting first thing first.” And here we might think of our Blessed Mother. After St. Luke describes Gabriel’s telling Mary she is to be the Mother of Our Savior, he describes Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, and tells us she paid her visit “in haste.” What is important here is Mary’s paying her visit “in haste,” but not “in a hurry.” Our dictionary defines “haste” as speed, but adds that it is speed combined with a certain purpose or dispatch. This echoes Knox’s observation, “Calm people don’t need to be in a hurry, because they hasten at the right moment, about the right things.”

THE CHALLENGE OF MARY’S “HASTE”

In the “Purgatory” of Dante’s Divine Comedy, the slothful souls repent of their sinful indifference by racing up the Mountain of Purgatory with “good will and right affection.” (“Purgatory,” XVIII, 96ff). Two souls in the lead cry out the passage from St. Luke, “Mary…went with haste into the hill country.” They accompany these words with the admonition, “Haste, haste, lest time be lost through little love.”

We make a mistake if we imagine the gospel is a record of things that happened to other people, somewhere else, a long time ago. In fact, the gospel is a story told about us, here and now. Each of the individuals we meet in the gospel accounts is a reflection of us, and each of them illustrates what we ought to be doing – or what we ought to avoid. Mary is the model for the Church, so she is our model in all things. She is the Church’s first tabernacle and its first evangelist, an individual willing to leave behind all the comfort and security of home to proclaim the Good News. And she is willing to do it “in haste.” Our Baptism calls us to do the same.