Happy Sunday, Missians!
I know I don't usually put out Sunday posts, so I decided to do something a little different. Since it's scheduled to be a dreary, rainy, lazy Sunday in my neck of the woods, this is the perfect post to dedicate to an animal that has a reputation for being lazy--the Sloth. But is this an accurate label, or do sloths just get a bad rep because they're so slow? Well, let's get to the bottom of that question, straight away. Today's information is courtesy of Slothville.com:
http://www.slothville.com/what-is-a-sloth/
Okay, so why is the sloth so slow?
The sloth’s slothful nature is down to its diet, which consists mostly of toxic leaves that take a long time to digest and provide little energy. In fact it can take a sloth one whole month to digest a single leaf. If they did so any faster they would literally poison themselves. To help with digesting they have a multi-chambered stomach, much like a cow, the contents of which can take up a third of their body weight. They also need to rest. A lot. They say that sloths spend 60% of their time resting. They’re not being lazy – they are busy digesting their dinner.
I would've never guessed that. So what else is there to know about sloths?
I know I don't usually put out Sunday posts, so I decided to do something a little different. Since it's scheduled to be a dreary, rainy, lazy Sunday in my neck of the woods, this is the perfect post to dedicate to an animal that has a reputation for being lazy--the Sloth. But is this an accurate label, or do sloths just get a bad rep because they're so slow? Well, let's get to the bottom of that question, straight away. Today's information is courtesy of Slothville.com:
http://www.slothville.com/what-is-a-sloth/
Okay, so why is the sloth so slow?
The sloth’s slothful nature is down to its diet, which consists mostly of toxic leaves that take a long time to digest and provide little energy. In fact it can take a sloth one whole month to digest a single leaf. If they did so any faster they would literally poison themselves. To help with digesting they have a multi-chambered stomach, much like a cow, the contents of which can take up a third of their body weight. They also need to rest. A lot. They say that sloths spend 60% of their time resting. They’re not being lazy – they are busy digesting their dinner.
I would've never guessed that. So what else is there to know about sloths?
A
sloth’s body and biology are perfectly evolved to spend minimum energy. Curved
claws and a strong grip allow them to hook on and hang – like a living hammock.
An efficient design that means they only need half the muscle mass of regular
mammals. Their metabolism is half that of mammals of a similar size and
although they are warm-blooded they keep themselves warm by basking in the
sun like lizards do.
Sloths
do everything upside down – eat, sleep, mate and even give birth. As a result
their fur grows the opposite direction, away from their extremities and with a
parting on their tummy. Each hair has a groove down the centre, which allows
algae to grow inside it and give the sloth a wild green look.
And guess what else? They don't have a scent--which means they don't stink, (which is good), but at the same time, algae and insects live in their coats. Yuck. Essential--but still, yuck...
The coat of a sloth is basically like a mini jungle with not just
algae but several resident insect species including a moth that only lives on a
sloth. They have no natural body odour so they look and smell just like a tree.
This helps them blend in with the forest and avoid being eaten by their number
one predator – the Harpy eagle.
A super strange, yet interesting fact. Who knew?
Sloths’
closest relatives are anteaters and armadillos. Together they belong to an
ancient group of mammals called the Xenarthra, which makes them sound like they
come from outer space and they have the sci-fi looks to match. The
Xenarthra owe their oddness to the fact they evolved in isolation around 80
million years ago when South America was still an island. They were once a
hugely successful group that included a giant ground sloth, Megatherium, the size of an Asian elephant. This majestic creature was probably
hunted to extinction by man following the last ice age.
What about the mamas and babies?
That's a really good question; and there's a really good answer. To find out more on that subject, and anything else not covered here, be sure to check out the Slothville.com website.
I hope you guys learned a lot about Sloths today, and will maybe decide to do more research on these interesting creatures. The armadillo thing threw me for a loop, so I definitely think, I'll be reading more on that topic.
Here's to hoping you guys have an awesome remainder of your weekend.
Until next time, this is your host J,
signing off...
Comments
Post a Comment