The Nate-ure Report: Sloths and Alligators at the El Paso Zoo

EL PASO, Texas -- ABC-7's Nate Ryan has literally taken us on a wild ride with"The Nate-ure Report," introducing viewers to the animals of the El Paso Zoo.

In Episode 5, Nate presents the Hoffman's sloth and American Alligator.

Moving less than a foot per second, the sloth is just working for the weekend.

In the tree tops of the Central American Rainforest, they sleep for up to 20 hours of the day. But the other four, the are quite active. Just ask the zookeepers!

"Sloths are notoriously known for being slow moving," says zookeeper Amanda Stansberry. "Our guys when they do want to move, they are known for sneaking up on our keepers and following them around to see what we're doing. They're very good supervisors of our keepers work!"

Hey, better a sloth catch you by surprise than the American Alligator!

Alligators are native to the swamps of the southeastern United States, including here in Texas.

Gators swallow their food whole, and are fed full frozen chickens at the zoo.

When hungry, gators will eat anything! They prey on fish, turtles, snakes, small mammals, and in rare cases humans.

In the water, they can reach speeds up 20 miles per hour, and on land, they can run up to 11mph.

So if you come across one of these reptiles in the swamp, take the 6-foot distance rule to heart.

Catch "The Nate-ure Report" on ABC-7 at 6.