MAMMALS 



315 



not have enamel. The families of this order differ much 

 dmxmg themselves from each other, for each family has its 

 own peculiar characteristics. 



Sloths. — These animals well deserve their name, for, as 

 Dr. Gill says, " They are not only slow to move, but slow to 

 think, slow to feel, and slow to die." They are strictly 

 arboreal, spending 

 their lives . among 

 the branches of trees 

 and very rarely com- 

 ing to the ground. 

 The natural position 

 of a sloth is to hang 

 suspended by the 

 long, curved claws 

 from a branch with 

 the back downward. 

 As some one has 

 said, " He moves 

 suspended from a branch, he rests suspended from it, and 

 he sleeps suspended from it " (Fig. 207). They are often 

 grayish in color, although some species are gre?nish, simu- 

 lating very closely the leaves of the trees among which they 

 live. The legs are comparatively long, especially the fore 

 ones. When, for any reason, a sloth comes to the ground, 

 it is exceedingly awkward, indeed almost helpless; for it 

 can only walk with the greatest difficulty. They are found 

 in the forests of South America, but some species come as 

 far north as Nicaragua. The sloths are not large animals, 

 for they range in size from a good-sized cat to a fox or 

 raccoon. 



Armadillos. — Unlike the sloths, the armadillos are 



Fig. 207. — Sloth sleeping suspended from a 

 branch. 



