Top 10 Slowest Animals in the World

The world is full of wonders. Mother Nature has created many wonders that truly leave us spellbound. The natural wonders widen our eyes with amazement. There is this beautiful natural beauty that mesmerizes one to the core. There are certain animals that also leave no chance to amaze us with their astonishing features. There are animals that can run with a lightning speed and there are animals that take hours and hours to cover the smallest distance.

This article is dedicated to the slowest animals on the planet. You must have read about the fastest animals on the planet. Let us introduce you to the top 10 slowest animals in the world.

10 Gila Monster

Gila Monster is on number 10 in the list of top 10 slowest animals in the world.
This animal is a member of the lizard family. It is a poisonous lizard. It is found in the south- western regions of the United States of America. The most interesting feature about this animal is that it stays hidden under the ground. It rarely comes outside. This animal stores fat inside the body and hence, do not usually come out in each of food. This can be attributed as one of the reasons for staying inside the ground. It rests inside the ground and this keeps them safe from the predators.
The size of this venomous animal is 22 inches. It weighs anywhere between 350 g to 700 g (0.77 lbs to 1.54 lbs). It can eat meal up to one- third of its body.
This lizard is one of the slowest animals. It moves at a speed of 667 cm per second. Thus, they are no threat to humans.

9 Manatee

Manatee is also known as sea cow. It is a herbivorous water animal. It is common in Indian Ocean, Amazon and Caribbean Sea. It lives in shallow water. You can see this animals floating on the surface of water rather than swimming. It is very lazy.
This marine mammal attains a length of 4 m and weighs about 590 kg.
Manatee is one of the slowest animals in the world. The reason could be their heavy size or absence of predator which makes it spend a harmless life span. It moves with a speed of 139 to 222 cm per sec.

8 Loris

photo via Duke Lemur Center – Duke University

On number 8 is Loris which is a medium size animal. This primate is a very strange animal. It has a strange appearance attributed to his long hands which are very much human- like and tennis ball eyes. It is generally found in south- east Asia.

To escape the predator this animal excretes mild toxins and lumber. It is a nocturnal animal that is also very bold and fearless. It is a poisonous mammal.
This animal makes twisted movements in a very slow speed. It moves with a speed of around 55.5 cm per second. The maximum speed can be 2 km per hour.

7 Banana Slug

Banana Slug is the seventh slowest animal on this list. This strange animal belongs to the gastropod mollusc family. The strangest thing about this animal is that it does not have a shell. It lies under the ground for the purpose of feeding as well as laying eggs. It can stays for many years underground in moist conditions.
A banana slug moves with the help of muscle contraction which makes its movement very slow. It can move only at a speed of 0.2 miles per hour. This makes them one of the slowest animals.

6 Sea Horse

Sea Horse is another slow animal in the list. It is a kind of fish species that lives in the tropical water. It is found around the world. There are around fifty- four species of this marine animal.
The most noted feature about this fish is its body structure. The torso of the fish resembles to a horse. The size of the animal ranges from 0.6 inches to 14.0 inches (1.5 cm to 35.5 cm). The unique body structure limits its fast movements making it a slow moving animal. It swims upright and this makes the swimming process real slow. The highest speed that a sea horse can attain is only 0.04 cm per second.

5 Koala Bear

Koala Bear hugs the number 5 spot in the list of top 10 slowest animals in the world. This animal is a mammal which belongs to a group of animals called as marsupial. It is one of the most adorable animals.

Though the name says Koala bear, it is not a bear. As it resembles the bears of Australia, it is called Koala Bear. It is a herbivorous animal. It has robust limbs as well as claws that help it climb quickly on the trees. It has a thick padded tail. It has a very poor eye sight, but, an extraordinary sense of sound and smell. This helps him to recognize the predators with ease. The bear sits on trees for longer time and spend most of the time on the trees.
Koala is a slow moving animal. It moves with a speed of 447 cm per second.

4 The Giant Tortoise

The Giant Tortoise-Photo via ThingLink.com

You must be expecting a tortoise in the list and the wait is over. The most anticipated animal has arrived in the list of top 10 slowest animals in the world on number 4 spot. The giant tortoise is one of the slowest animals on the Earth. It is commonly found in Galapagos Islands and Seychelles. It inhabits grasslands and wet lands. An interesting fact about tortoise is that it can live without water and food for about one year. This is something unbelievable.
This reptile is the longest living animal that has a life span of 190 years which is unbelievable. The weight of the tortoise is about 660 lbs (300 kg). They attain a length of 1.3 m.
A tortoise has very heavy shell and very thick legs. Perhaps this is the reason for their slow movement. This animal moves at a speed of 76 cm per second.

3 Star Fish

This cute sea fish is also one of the slowest moving animals. There are about two thousand different species of this fish. It is found in all the oceans across the world.
Star fish has many interesting facts associated with it. First, this fish does not have brain. It also does not have blood. Second, if the fish gets cut into small pieces, a whole new star fish will grow from every single piece.
As the name says, star fish has a star shaped body and this body stricter is to be blamed for the slow movement of this fish. It can’t even travel long distance. Interestingly, it moves along with the ocean currents. It can move only at a speed of 0.02 miles per hour.
Different species of star fish moves with different speed. The leather star fish moves at a speed of 0.25 cm per second. The sand star moves at a speed of 4.7 cm per second. It is the fastest of all star fishes.

2 Three-Toed Sloth

On number 2 is a tree- toed sloth. This animal is native to America. This animal can move at a speed of 0.003 miles per hour. I cannot move farther than a hundred feet in one day.
This cute looking animal spends most of his life living on trees in the tropical rain forests in America.
Meaning of sloth is sluggishness and laziness; this animal has been named sloth because of the meaning of its name.
The three- toed sloth is on number 2 position in the list of top 10 slowest animals in the world.

1 Garden Snail

The slowest animal on the Earth is a garden snail. It is a species of the land snails. This little creature is a native of the Mediterranean region. It belongs to the group of animals of the terrestrial mollusc group. These snail species are found in the wetlands.
The animal does not have legs. It leaves behind wet trail along the path it is moving. The snail has a thick coiled shell over it. This also can be a reason for their slow movement. They move via muscle contraction. One more interesting fact about these snails, apart from their slowest speed is that they make hibernation for years and years. They hide from sunlight.
A garden snail moves at a speed of 1.3 cm per second. It is the highest speed that it can achieve. It moves less than a meter in a minute. It takes about 21 hours or more to cover one kilometre.
This makes the garden snail the slowest animal on the Earth.
These were the top 10 slowest animals in the world.

Source: Teninsider

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