When I first saw a sloth in Panama, I didn't have a clue what it was. Five cops had stopped traffic and were helping the little guy across the road. It didn't take me long to figure out what it was, though. These little guys are famous in Panama.
Sloths are part of the anteater family. They're called sloths because they are slow and lazy. They live in trees in tropical climates and typically only come down to the ground about once a week to urinate and defecate. Hmm. I couldn't imagine holding it that long.
Sloths are folivores who eat leaves from the trees where they live. (I had to look up what a folivore was. It's a herbivore that eats mainly mature, hard-to-digest leaves.) Because of their diet, they have very complicated stomachs that digest the leaves slowly, which results in an extremely slow metabolism. In fact, as much as two-thirds of a sloth's weight is made of of the contents of its stomach.
They have curved claws called "toes" that they can use to swipe against predators. But because they move so slowly and blend in with trees, their main form of defense is not attracting the attention of predators in the first place.
Sloths are Koala-bear cute and harmless to humans. If you see one crossing the road, you'll need to stop traffic and take a coffee break, though. At their fastest, they only travel about 6.5 feet per minute.
This photo was taken by a friend outside of my condo building. Some sloths live in the rain forest which borders our property at Playa Bonita, just outside of Panama City.
Sloths are part of the anteater family. They're called sloths because they are slow and lazy. They live in trees in tropical climates and typically only come down to the ground about once a week to urinate and defecate. Hmm. I couldn't imagine holding it that long.
Sloths are folivores who eat leaves from the trees where they live. (I had to look up what a folivore was. It's a herbivore that eats mainly mature, hard-to-digest leaves.) Because of their diet, they have very complicated stomachs that digest the leaves slowly, which results in an extremely slow metabolism. In fact, as much as two-thirds of a sloth's weight is made of of the contents of its stomach.
They have curved claws called "toes" that they can use to swipe against predators. But because they move so slowly and blend in with trees, their main form of defense is not attracting the attention of predators in the first place.
Sloths are Koala-bear cute and harmless to humans. If you see one crossing the road, you'll need to stop traffic and take a coffee break, though. At their fastest, they only travel about 6.5 feet per minute.
This photo was taken by a friend outside of my condo building. Some sloths live in the rain forest which borders our property at Playa Bonita, just outside of Panama City.
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