Catching zzz's

Science World, Sept 1, 2008 by Cody Crane

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Slow-moving sloths get a bad rap for being lazy. In captivity, these animals can spend two thirds of the day dozing. But not so in the wild. Scientists used portable electroencphalograms (instruments that detect brain activity) to monitor sloths' sleeping patterns in their natural habitat. They found that the sloths snoozed about nine and a half hours a day--six hours less than previously thought. Unlike their captive relatives, wild sloths may forgo naps to search for food and watch out for predators.

SLOWPOKE: Sloths are the slowest-moving mammals on Earth. But they may not actually be as sluggish as their name suggests.