What is peculiar about the sloth bear ?

The sloth bear found in tropical South America has a peculiarity which sets it apart from other animals. It spends its entire life in an upside down position
Like the bat, the sloth bear too sleeps on trees in an upside-d o w n position. Their muscles are fixed so that they do not fall down. However these sloth bears do everything upside down. They move about very slowly on the Bear trees in this way with their claws hooked on to the tree. They eat, mate and even give birth in this position.
The sloth bear has the ability to turn its head fully round. It hardly has a tail but is covered with thick hair. This hair is covered with green algae which provides an excellent camouflage. The sloth is herbivorous and feeds on leaves and buds of the trees.
There are two species of sloth bear : the two - toed and the three - toed variety.