# 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:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/41 "2012-02-28T20:00:09Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > They hiss when they’re mad, did you know? Thank you for signing up for Sloth Facts! You will now receive daily fun facts about sloths. The maximum ground speed of a three-toed sloth is 6.5 feet per minute! \ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/42 "2012-02-28T20:03:17Z")
Sloths are mammals. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/43 "2012-02-28T20:14:40Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Sloths are mammals. Sloths fight ALL the time. The purpose of the sloth is to flip out and kill people. [cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Ultimate_Power#Website) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/44 "2012-02-28T21:21:55Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Sloths fight ALL the time. > The purpose of the sloth is to flip out and kill people. > > [cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Ultimate_Power#Website) The problem is their response time. They are just now working up a good head of steam about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Whammo72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Whammo72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo72)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/45 "2012-02-28T23:05:25Z")
Cancel ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/46 "2012-02-29T14:28:12Z")
Command not recognized. Unlike most mammals, a sloth’s hair grows _away_ from its extremities. Weird! Thank you for subscribing to Sloth Facts! ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/47 "2012-02-29T15:02:10Z")
No, I’m mostly harmless. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/48 "2012-02-29T21:05:17Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > It is speculated the two-toed sloth migrated to Australia at about the same time as the first humans. The strange flora combined with an abundance of native herbivores pressured the creature to rely increasingly on flesh for sustinance. As a result, its reflexes improved notably, its teeth became more suited for gripping and teating and its cunning became unmatched in the animal kingdom. Curiously, the habit of hanging upside down from branches was never lost. The modern descendants of the Australian two-toed sloth are rarely seen by humans, and only when one plummets from a tree onto an unsuspecting tourist. You’re all mixed up. It’s AUSTRIA. ---
**Author:** ![mrsmcnew4christ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@mrsmcnew4christ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrsmcnew4christ)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/49 "2017-10-31T03:51:28Z")
My mother in law was visiting and was taken to a petting zoo in my town. The zoo gave you an option to feed the sloths some thin slices of peaches. All was going well until a male stayed winding around her arm, holding on with his claws and he BIT her arm! She wasn’t being mean or provoking him at all so I’m curious why he would’ve done it. The zookeeper said that none of them had ever bitten before so they were baffled as to what happened to cause this behavior. They reportedly have had their shots and all, but I worry about infections or rabies even. Any ideas from you all what could’ve happened? Any tips on home treatment or what to watch for if it gets bad? It is causing her some horrible pain today, and is still bleeding a little bit. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/50 "2017-10-31T05:11:00Z")
I would get her an appointment with a doctor or get her to an ER instead of asking a group of people on a message board. We do have some MDs on the boards, but I doubt a sloth bite is something they have had experience with. Even if the sloth has had its shots, your mother-in-law may need a tetanus shot, and antibiotics if the bite becomes infected. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/51 "2017-10-31T05:16:22Z")
A zømbie sløth bit my sister once… ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/52 "2017-10-31T06:07:38Z")
Not a moose? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/53 "2017-10-31T13:18:16Z")
zømbie bites can be pretti BRÅÅÅIIINS! ---
**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:** [October 31, 2017, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/54 "2017-10-31T14:09:17Z")
a Giant Zombie Ground Sloth thread!! Walk for your Lives!!! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150/55 "2017-10-31T17:33:33Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > A zømbie sløth bit my sister once… > [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Not a moose? Or a møøse? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-sloths-dangerous/613150.md?page=2)