Sloth Coloring Pages

Animals That Live in Trees

Sloth is an animal that lives in warm forests in Central and South America.
It spends almost its whole life up in the trees.
It uses its long arms and legs to hang upside down from branches to sleep and eat leaves.
The first coloring page shows Sloth hanging from a wooden stick.

Long Claws Like Hooks

Sloth has long claws curved like hooks on its hands and feet.
It hangs by hooking these claws onto branches.
It can hang without using strength, so it does not fall even while sleeping.

Two Front Claws and Three Back Claws

The Sloth on this coloring page is a type called the Two-toed Sloth.
Just as the name says, it has two claws on its front feet.
It has three claws on its back feet.
Try counting the claws on its front and back feet in the first coloring page.
There is also another type called the "Three-toed Sloth" that has three claws on its front feet.

Moving Very Slowly

Sloth moves very slowly.
It eats leaves and lives on very little energy, so it tries not to move around a lot.
Moving slowly also has a good side: enemies cannot find it easily.

A Face Staring at You

The second coloring page shows Sloth hugging a tree trunk and looking right at you.
It has a round face with black eyes and a big nose, and it looks like it is smiling.
Long hair covers its body completely.

Spending Most of the Day Sleeping

Sloth spends most of the day sleeping and resting.
It curls up its body and sleeps while hanging.
Even at the zoo, it often stays completely still.

The Secret of Its Name

The Japanese name "Namakemono" (lazy person) comes from how it moves so slowly and looks lazy.
But really, it is living a clever way of life using very little energy.
It is not actually being lazy at all.
Leaves are an important food for Sloth.
Up in the trees, it eats nearby leaves slowly and hardly moves around.

Use beige and brown for the fur

Sloth's fur is beige and light brown.
If you move your colored pencil in long strokes along the fur, Sloth will look nice and fluffy!
Make Sloth look round and soft by using a slightly darker brown on its back and the outside of its arms.

Color the face pattern carefully

Try coloring the face light beige, and the area around the eyes dark brown.
Making the area around the eyes dark will give Sloth that classic look!
The big nose is dark brown or a blackish color.

The claws and the tree

Color the hook-like claws with dark brown or gray.
If you color the branch and tree trunk brown, and the leaves green or yellow-green, Sloth will look just like it is in the forest!

It is fun to mix in some green too

In the wild, tiny algae can grow on Sloth's fur, making it look a bit green!
It is fun to mix a little light green into parts of the fur, too.

Enjoy the different poses in the 2 pages

The 1st coloring page shows Sloth hanging upside down, and the 2nd coloring page shows Sloth facing you.
Even for the same Sloth, it looks very different depending on the way you look at it!
Color Sloth's gentle face carefully on the 2nd coloring page.

The pattern around the eyes

Sloth has a dark pattern around its eyes.
If you color this part dark brown, Sloth will look like it is smiling at you!
Use a bright color for the fur around its face.

They only come down from the tree to use the bathroom

Sloth almost never comes down from trees, but it is said that they climb down to the ground only when they poop.
Even then, it is only about once a week.
That is because they digest their food very slowly.

They are good at swimming

Sloth moves slowly in trees, but swims very well in the water.
Sometimes they even cross rivers to move to another forest.

Their fur grows in the opposite direction

Sloth's fur grows from its tummy toward its back.
This helps rainwater flow right off them when they are hanging upside down.

Their body temperature is a bit low

Sloth has a lower body temperature than other mammals, and it changes a little with the temperature around them.
On warm days, they sometimes warm their bodies in the sun.

A popular animal at the zoo

Sloth is a popular animal in Japanese zoos too.
Take your time watching them while they stay still.
They have clever secrets that help them live well, even with their slow movements!