Did you know?
1. The sloth's mission statement can be summed up as, essentially, "Avoid being eaten by eagles."
Donald Moore, PhD, associate director of animal care at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., says "There's no real defense against something that's willing to dive bomb a tree, flip upside down and grab you off a vine. You're really better off if they just don't see you." It is true that sloths are very still for most of the day. But that's more about self-defense than laziness. (BoingBoing)
2. They're smart--and fast
In the 1930's and 40's, researchers showed, with the help of vine-and-rope maze tests, that sloths are as smart as cats are on the ground. But are they as fast? Donald Moore has this story to tell: "One female took a dislike to me. I'm one of the only sloth biologists who's been bitten," he said. "They can use their big claws and slash out. But what she did was run at me, upside down along a vine, as fast as a cat would run along the floor. She grabbed me and pulled my hand to her mouth and then bit. It all happened very quickly." (BoingBoing)
3. Most of them can't survive in zoos
There are six species of sloths—four species of three-toed sloths and two of the two-toed variety. Of those, only the two-toed species are frequently found in zoos. It comes down to an issue of movement and diet. In the wild, two-toed sloths move more than 40 meters a day through the treetops, said Moore. Three-toed sloths move much less. As a result, the two-toers have a more varied diet—enjoying everything from lettuce, to boiled yams, to grapes, making them much easier to keep in a zoo. (BoingBoing)
4. They're in a league of their their own
Sloths evolved in South America and, for most of their existence, that continent wasn't connected to any others. They're very old—their family tree, which also includes anteaters and armadillos, diverged from the rest of the mammals some 75-80 million years ago, when South America was still joined to Africa. (BoingBoing)
5. Slow-Acting Stomach: Sloths have very large, specialized and slow-acting stomachs to digest their main food source: leaves. It takes about a month or more for a sloth to digest a belly full of leaves.
6. Unusual Hair Style: Sloths spend so much time hanging upside down, with their legs above their body, that — in order to provide protection from the elements — their hair grows away from their extremities. Moreover, they find it good to have algae stuck to their fur, giving them a hand on the camouflage. The unique pattern of this hair directs water to drip down onto the rainforest floor and it helps them be excellent swimmers (AnimalCorner).
7. Giant Sloths?: Ancestors of present-day, tree-dwelling sloths included huge, ground-dwelling sloths such as Megatherium — one of the largest mammals to ever walk the earth, larger than today's elephants.
8. The sloth is the world's slowest mammal, so sedentary that algae grows on its furry coat. The plant gives it a greenish tint that is useful camouflage in the trees of its habitat in the Central and South American rainforests.
9. The three-toed sloth emits a long, high-pitched call that echoes through the forests as "ahh-eeee." Because of this cry these sloths are sometimes called ais (pronounced "eyes").
10. Three-toed sloths also have an advantage that few other mammals possess: They have extra neck vertebrae that allows them to turn their heads some 270 to 360 degrees.
11. Differences with Two-Toed Sloth: the three-toed sloth is smaller than the two-toed, being less than two feet long and weighing around 10 pounds. It is also a day creature, contrary to the three-toed sloth which is mostly nocturnal: the three-toed sloth averages 17 meters of movement during the day and 5 meters at night. The three-toed sloth also has an extra vertebrae to allow almost 360 degrees of head rotation.
* "Sloth : Facts, Pictures, Video : Animal Planet." Animal Planet : Pets, Wild Animals, Dog Breeds, Cat Breeds. Web. 27 May 2010. <http://animal.discovery.com/mammals/sloth/>.
Donald Moore, PhD, associate director of animal care at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., says "There's no real defense against something that's willing to dive bomb a tree, flip upside down and grab you off a vine. You're really better off if they just don't see you." It is true that sloths are very still for most of the day. But that's more about self-defense than laziness. (BoingBoing)
2. They're smart--and fast
In the 1930's and 40's, researchers showed, with the help of vine-and-rope maze tests, that sloths are as smart as cats are on the ground. But are they as fast? Donald Moore has this story to tell: "One female took a dislike to me. I'm one of the only sloth biologists who's been bitten," he said. "They can use their big claws and slash out. But what she did was run at me, upside down along a vine, as fast as a cat would run along the floor. She grabbed me and pulled my hand to her mouth and then bit. It all happened very quickly." (BoingBoing)
3. Most of them can't survive in zoos
There are six species of sloths—four species of three-toed sloths and two of the two-toed variety. Of those, only the two-toed species are frequently found in zoos. It comes down to an issue of movement and diet. In the wild, two-toed sloths move more than 40 meters a day through the treetops, said Moore. Three-toed sloths move much less. As a result, the two-toers have a more varied diet—enjoying everything from lettuce, to boiled yams, to grapes, making them much easier to keep in a zoo. (BoingBoing)
4. They're in a league of their their own
Sloths evolved in South America and, for most of their existence, that continent wasn't connected to any others. They're very old—their family tree, which also includes anteaters and armadillos, diverged from the rest of the mammals some 75-80 million years ago, when South America was still joined to Africa. (BoingBoing)
5. Slow-Acting Stomach: Sloths have very large, specialized and slow-acting stomachs to digest their main food source: leaves. It takes about a month or more for a sloth to digest a belly full of leaves.
6. Unusual Hair Style: Sloths spend so much time hanging upside down, with their legs above their body, that — in order to provide protection from the elements — their hair grows away from their extremities. Moreover, they find it good to have algae stuck to their fur, giving them a hand on the camouflage. The unique pattern of this hair directs water to drip down onto the rainforest floor and it helps them be excellent swimmers (AnimalCorner).
7. Giant Sloths?: Ancestors of present-day, tree-dwelling sloths included huge, ground-dwelling sloths such as Megatherium — one of the largest mammals to ever walk the earth, larger than today's elephants.
8. The sloth is the world's slowest mammal, so sedentary that algae grows on its furry coat. The plant gives it a greenish tint that is useful camouflage in the trees of its habitat in the Central and South American rainforests.
9. The three-toed sloth emits a long, high-pitched call that echoes through the forests as "ahh-eeee." Because of this cry these sloths are sometimes called ais (pronounced "eyes").
10. Three-toed sloths also have an advantage that few other mammals possess: They have extra neck vertebrae that allows them to turn their heads some 270 to 360 degrees.
11. Differences with Two-Toed Sloth: the three-toed sloth is smaller than the two-toed, being less than two feet long and weighing around 10 pounds. It is also a day creature, contrary to the three-toed sloth which is mostly nocturnal: the three-toed sloth averages 17 meters of movement during the day and 5 meters at night. The three-toed sloth also has an extra vertebrae to allow almost 360 degrees of head rotation.
* "Sloth : Facts, Pictures, Video : Animal Planet." Animal Planet : Pets, Wild Animals, Dog Breeds, Cat Breeds. Web. 27 May 2010. <http://animal.discovery.com/mammals/sloth/>.