Sloths vs Turtles: The Slow Race to the Finish
They say that slow and steady wins the race! So we’ll finally get to see who is the slowest and the steadiest.
WIll the lethargic sloth, or the dawdling turtle take home the points, badges, and glory?
Meet your contenders here!
Sloths
- The average sloth speed is 2 meters per minute on the ground, 3 meters per minute when climbing in trees. If they are being hunted by a predator they can speed up to 4 meters per minute!
- Sloths gain their slovenly speed due to their low energy, low nutrition diet of mainly leaves. They conserve energy with slow speed, a low metabolic rate, and a low body temperature. It can take up to a month for a sloth to digest a single meal.
- There are two types of sloths – two-toed sloths and three-toed sloths.
- All sloths are very cute! That’s just science.
Turtles
- Turtles are slightly faster than sloths, clocking in at speeds of 1 mile per hour on land, and 1.5 miles per hour in the water.
- There are many different species of turtles including – box turtles, snapping turtles, painted turtles, and softshell turtles!
- Turtles are very adaptive and can be found on every continent except Antarctica.
- Ever heard of the wise old owl? Might as well be the wise old turtle! Some species of turtles can live to be over 100 years old!
Artwork by Daniela Gamba