(Go Go Sadie) - Sadie the Sloth (Megalonychidae (two-toed sloths) & Bradypodidae (three-toed sloths)Sloths belong to one of two families, known as the Megalonychidae ("two-toed" sloths) and the Bradypodidae (three-toed sloths). All sloths have three toes; the "two-toed" sloths, however, have only two fingers. Two-toed sloths are generally faster moving than three-toed sloths. Both sloth types tend to occupy the same forests.Sloths live in the tropical rain forest of Costa Rica. They hang upside down, clinging to the tree limbs with their toes or claws. Sloths can sleep around ten hours per day, and the other time is spent eating mostly tender shoots and leaves of the Cecropia trees. These leaves provide very little energy and do not digest easily, therefore, the Sloth has a large, specialized slow acting stomach with multiple compartments in which symbiotic bacteria break down the tough leaves, and the digestive process can take a month or longer. The sloth has a very slow metabolic rate and maintains low body temperatures, around 86-93 degrees F.Sloth furs exhibit specialized functions: the outer hairs grow in a direction opposite from that of other mammals. In most mammals hairs grow toward the extremities, but because sloths spend so much time upside down, their hairs grow away from the extremities in order to provide protection from the elements while the sloth hangs upside down. In most conditions, the fur hosts two species of symbiotic cyanobacteria, which provide camouflage. Because of the cyanobacteria, sloth fur is a small ecosystem of its own, hosting many species of non-parasitic insects. Sloths have short, flat heads; big eyes; a short snout; long legs; and tiny ears. They also have stubby tails, usually 6–7 cm long. Altogether, sloths' bodies usually are anywhere between 50 and 60 cm long and weigh around 8.75 pounds. The average lifespan is somewhere around 20 years; although there have been 40 year old sloths.Sloths climb down to the ground about once a week to urinate and defecate, and go to the same spot all the time, where the sloths seem to find each other for breeding purposes. Sloths go to the ground to urinate and defecate about once a week, digging a hole and covering it afterwards. They go to the same spot each time and are vulnerable to predation while doing so. Sometimes the sloths' low level of movement actually keeps females from finding males for longer than one year. They also mate while hanging. Females normally bear one baby every year. Mother sloths give birth to their babies upside down. Infant sloths normally cling to their mother's fur. But they sometimes fall, it's not the fall what kills them, it's because the mothers don't go down to get them back.Sloths' claws serve as their only natural defense. A cornered sloth may swipe at its attackers in an effort to scare them away or wound them. Despite sloths' apparent defenselessness, predators do not pose special problems: sloths blend in with the trees and, moving only slowly, do not attract attention. Only during their infrequent visits to ground level do they become vulnerable. The main predators of sloths are the jaguar, the harpy eagle, and humans. The majority of recorded sloth deaths in Costa Rica are due to contact with electrical lines and poachers. Sloths are very slow creatures on land, but are very competent and fast swimmers under the water. When do they go into the water? If and when they want to – that’s up to each individual sloth.
Joan Walsh
Salon.com
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