International Sloth Day – October 20, 2022

International Sloth Day is an annual commemoration celebrated on October 20th of every year. Sounds weird as this Day is for the sloth? Don’t get panic, as this Day is not for laziness or indolence. The sloth here refers to a mammal that is originally a leaf-eaters. Every living being needs recognization and sloth is one among those living creatures. The animal is named so as it seems to be slow and lazy at first glance. They are not so, and we could see it with a smiling face. International Sloth Day celebrates the sloths, an extinct mammal. It is also the Day that raises awareness about the natural habitat and life cycle of the Sloth.

“I’d love sloth. I wish sloth would come home and visit me once in a while. I don’t consider laziness a sin at all.” – Kajol

History of International Sloth Day

International Sloth Day was first celebrated in the year 2010. AIUNAU Foundation, non-profit conservation, and wildlife organization located in Colombia have created this Day. The AIUNAU members of Columbia have been continually working with the sloths since 1996. Every year, they surveyed the sloths being killed and captured to be made as pets. The first international meeting dealt with the well-being, rehabilitation, and conservation of the sloths. The primary objective of this Day is it highlights the element that makes people aware and conscious of wildlife.

The creation of this Day lets the people get to know a little more about these mammals. AIUNAU aims in promoting awareness about the sloths its rehabilitation and conservation. Sloths are extremely slow-moving, shy, quiet animals. They spend their entire lives hanging on the limbs of trees. Its name is similar to one of the seven deadly sins in Christian philosophy. Besides the name meaning, they are usually idle due to metabolic adaptations for conserving energy. They act fast and quickly during emergency flights from predators.

Sloths are short, flat heads, big-eyed mammals. It has short snouts, long limbs, and tiny ears. Sloths usually have a strong stout body, they can swim, and the fact that they host symbiotic algae on their fur. These sloths have two layers of fur, which harbors several types of symbiotic fungi, algae, beetles, and other insects. The algae on the mammal’s fur give the sloths with characteristic green color. It helps the sloth to camouflage itself in the thick vegetation. Recent studies have shown that the algae and fungi in the sloth fur might help fight many human diseases, including cancer.

Other Celebrations on October 20

October 20 is also celebrated as

• National Brandied Fruit Day
• National Suspenders Day
• Information Overload Day
• National Waiters Day
• Get Smart About Credit Day
• Conflict Resolution Day

How to Celebrate International Sloth Day

Celebrating International Sloth Day is very simple. Spend some time to know more about the sloths and their habitat. Bring awareness to the people about the need to save wildlife. Let your children know about this mammal. Donate some bucks to the charity and help them conserve this extinct variety of mammals. On the other side, you can learn to enjoy things by doing them in a slow lazy way. Share your celebrations on social media using the hashtag #InternationalSlothDay.

Thank you for reading the post. You can celebrate every day with Happydays365.org, and Happy International Sloth Day 2022.