# Are sloths dangerous? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150 "2012-02-17T16:46:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/1 "2012-02-17T16:46:37Z")
They move reeeeaaaalllly slow, but can they move fast if they want to? If angered, frightened, or hungry, could a sloth just whack you with one of its big clawy hands? Or would it still move like it was underwater and even a child could dodge it? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/2 "2012-02-17T16:48:27Z")
They hiss when they’re mad, did you know? At the zoo, they let us volunteers clean their exhibit with them in it. They do bite, if you really have it coming to you, and they can move faster than their normal slothful pace, yes. But generally they don’t. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/3 "2012-02-17T17:14:45Z")
I didn’t know they hiss. Frankly, slow moving animals with gigantic razor-sharp claws scare me. I never know if they’re slow because they can’t move any faster or they’re simply scheming. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/4 "2012-02-17T18:54:19Z")
They can swipe with their claws. They [can’t](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloth#Physiology)ever move quickly by our standards, even in immediate danger: > [@](#): > > Sloths’ claws serve as their only natural defence. A cornered sloth may swipe at its attackers in an effort to scare them away or wound them. Despite sloths’ apparent defencelessness, predators do not pose special problems: sloths blend in with the trees and, moving only slowly, do not attract attention. > > Sloths move only when necessary and even then very slowly: they have about a quarter as much muscle tissue as other animals of similar weight. They can move at a marginally higher speed if they are in immediate danger from a predator (4 m or 13 feet per minute for the three-toed sloth), but they burn large amounts of energy doing so. … ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/5 "2012-02-17T18:58:24Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > They hiss when they’re mad, did you know? > > At the zoo, they let us volunteers clean their exhibit with them in it. They do bite, if you really have it coming to you, and they can move faster than their normal slothful pace, yes. But generally they don’t. Attractive actress, Kristen Bell, loves them. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5jw3T3Jy70](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5jw3T3Jy70) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/6 "2012-02-17T18:59:29Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I didn’t know they hiss. Frankly, slow moving animals with gigantic razor-sharp claws scare me. Their claws are indeed big, but are they really razor-sharp? They always looked pretty dull to me. Not that I’d want to get swiped by one regardless… ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/7 "2012-02-17T19:12:12Z")
**Are sloths dangerous?** Only if you debauch them. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/8 "2012-02-17T19:32:56Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Their claws are indeed big, but are they really razor-sharp? They always looked pretty dull to me. Not that I’d want to get swiped by one regardless… They’re not sharp - but neither are my dog’s, and he can give you a good claw-up every so often. It’s not that they move _fast_, but that when you’re expecting their normal sloth pace and they pick it up a bit it’s a surprise. For a bit we had a new sloth and had to keep the two separated, so we had to clean around one or the other in the backup - sometimes you’d get a hiss and a swipe for encouraging the shorter tempered sloth to climb up off the floor. I mean, nothing you couldn’t avoid, mind. Also sometimes they sleep with their tongues out, which is adorable. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/9 "2012-02-17T19:48:46Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > They hiss when they’re mad, did you know? > > At the zoo, they let us volunteers clean their exhibit with them in it. They do bite, if you really have it coming to you, and they can move faster than their normal slothful pace, yes. But generally they don’t. You really need to do an ask the volunteer zookeeper thread. Actually I’ve been thinking for a while now I’d love to see as ask the zookeeper thread in general. But seeing your zoo related posts really makes me want to see one now. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/10 "2012-02-17T19:53:57Z")
One of my favorite cartoons has a Giant Ground Sloth attacking two people. The caption: A Giant Ground Sloth! Walk for your lives!! And, just for kicks, the circa 1950 movie _Unknown Island_ DID feature a Giant Ground Sloth that attacked. It looked more like a gorilla, which was probably the costume they used. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/11 "2012-02-17T20:11:42Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > You really need to do an ask the volunteer zookeeper thread. Actually I’ve been thinking for a while now I’d love to see as ask the zookeeper thread in general. But seeing your zoo related posts really makes me want to see one now. Oh, I really don’t know that much. Mostly I scoop poop. But I do know that sloths have hella dandruff. Seriously, everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/12 "2012-02-17T20:58:05Z")
I thought there was a big temperament difference between two-toed and three-toed sloths, and that the three-toes are super-slow and the two-toed are capable of being more aggressive about defending themselves. Yes? No? ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/13 "2012-02-17T21:22:00Z")
Semi hijack: The giant Western Hemisphere gound sloth _megatherium,_ which survived until ~10,000 years ago, was as big as an elephant, reaching 18 feet in height, possessing scaled-up claws to boot: [Gaint Ground Sloth Skeleton](http://0.tqn.com/d/dinosaurs/1/0/1/K/-/-/megatheriumPMNH.JPG) [Reconstruction Portrait Showing Claws](http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/wp-content/uploads/megatherium.jpg) No need for those claws to be sharp to do some damage. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/14 "2012-02-17T22:35:38Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I thought there was a big temperament difference between two-toed and three-toed sloths, and that the three-toes are super-slow and the two-toed are capable of being more aggressive about defending themselves. > > Yes? No? According to Gerald Durrell in _Three Singles to Adventure_; yes. “As it had demostrated on the night of its escape, the two-toed (sloth) had a savage and untrustworthy nature, whereas its relation could be handled with complete safety, even when freshly caught.” The sloth escape itself was hysterical, but the savageness of the beast may have been exaggerated by the dark, the fact that the ‘heroes’ were half alseep, armed only with a stick and hampered by the amorous advances of a rather thick curassow. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/15 "2012-02-17T22:48:28Z")
I met someone who had a pet sloth that he just carried around, hanging from his neck. He said it never hurt him at all, (I asked because I was sure that they use their claws to dig into tree branches.) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/16 "2012-02-17T22:53:51Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > They hiss when they’re mad, did you know? > At the zoo, they let us volunteers clean their exhibit with them in it. They do bite, if you really have it coming to you, and they can move faster than their normal slothful pace, yes. But generally they don’t. Yeah, they can’t be all that aggressive or dangerous—I’ve been to at least a couple zoos where the sloths were kept in a house that you could walk around in. I remember one of them was the Budapest Zoo; it’s got a house with marmosets, sloths, and tamarinds. They dangle from tree branches low enough to touch. I’m sure you’re not actually supposed to touch them, though, and much to my embarrassment, my grandfather grabbed one of the monkey’s tails… On our visit one of the sloths was also close enough to grab, though thankfully my grandfather kept his hands off of it. ---
**Author:** ![KneeSid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dec6dc/32.png) [@KneeSid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneeSid)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/17 "2012-02-17T23:21:40Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Also sometimes they sleep with their tongues out, which is adorable. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/sL5mAbwUYpM/maxresdefault.jpg "Adorable Baby Sloth Yawning") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL5mAbwUYpM) Baby sloth yawning with tongue hanging out ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/18 "2012-02-17T23:34:41Z")
While the three-toed belong to the Bradypodidae, which specialized in tree-sloth-ness, the two-toed are the surviving members of the mid-range ground sloth family, the Megalonychidae. (Interesting note: the Megaloychidae made it out of South America by island-hopping _before_ the Central American isthmus was raised, and did the majority of their evolutionary radiation in the Greater Antilles and North America. They appear to have reinvaded South America at the time of the Great American Interchange, going south with the cats, camelids, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Dufus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c77e96/32.png) [@Dufus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dufus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2012, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/19 "2012-02-17T23:41:00Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Oh, I really don’t know that much. Mostly I scoop poop. > > But I do know that sloths have hella dandruff. Seriously, everywhere. I used to see sloths when I lived in Panama. If you ruffled their hair clouds of moths flew out. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/20 "2012-02-18T02:01:51Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > **Are sloths dangerous?** > > Only if you debauch them. Bonus points for the Aubrey and Maturin ref. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150.md?page=2)