# A new genetic discovery points to how sloths manage to survive while using so little energy

Source: [Earth.com](https://www.earth.com/animals/slowest-mammal-three-toed-sloth-alive-low-energy-budget-extra-gene-copies/) · 2026-11-10 · Earth & Climate
Page: https://themorning.science/story/a-new-genetic-discovery-points-to-how-sloths-manage-to-survive-while-using-so-li-b5ed3c8bbace201e
Kind: research · Impact: low

## In brief

- Sloths can run their entire bodies on less than half the energy expected for mammals of their size, according to the source.
- Biologists have not yet explained how sloths achieve this low energy use.
- A new genome of the two-toed sloth points to one possible explanation, based on genetic findings.

## Why it matters

The finding offers a possible genetic route to understanding how a mammal achieves unusually low energy use, which bears on how metabolism is studied across species.

## Coverage

- [A new genetic discovery points to how sloths manage to survive while using so little energy](https://www.earth.com/animals/slowest-mammal-three-toed-sloth-alive-low-energy-budget-extra-gene-copies/) — Earth.com, 2026-11-10

Tags: sloths, genomics, metabolism, energy efficiency, mammals

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science