WILDLIFE OF THE WEEK
Three-toed sloth
Sloths are bizarre and fascinating tropical animals found only in Central and South America. The six sloth species that exist today are the last of a group of ancient South American plant eaters, which included the Mylodon, a hulking two-ton leaf-munching tank that had a jack of bony chain-mail armor under its skin. Contemporary sloths are more adorable than impressive, however, protecting themselves in part by being so slow that other animals typically don’t notice them. The three toed sloths (genus Bradypus) are especially ridiculous, growing algae in their fur from inactivity and being incapable of even a defensive bite when threatened. Denizens of the forest canopy, they return to the ground only to poop (naturalists are still baffled why they don’t do it from the trees), or to move between forest fragments. The Spanish word for sloths, which I learned in 2009 while helping a banana farmer get one across a road safely, is “Perezoso”, translating roughly to “lazy”.
A young brown-throated three-toed sloth (Bradypus variegatus) discovered by my tropical biology students during our stay at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. This teenager, probably striking out on its own, had climbed down a low-hanging branch but ended up further from the ground than he wanted. The students were delighted to watch him navigate this conundrum but got bored when he hadn’t made a decision in 48 minutes.
NATURALIST WORD OF THE WEEK
Phyllode (n.) - a flattened or “winged”, leaf-like expansion of a plant stem. These lack stomata, the holes that leaves have for gas exchange, so they can be used to photosynthesize without excess water loss. As a result, these are much more common in desert plants.
Want more Gulo in Nature?
▶ Join the Patreon to get your nature questions answered, have personalized consultations, and more!
▶ Buy Charles a coffee to say thanks and keep the nature content flowing.
▶ Have a cool recent nature sighting? A burning question? Contact Gulo in Nature and let us know!
▶ Subscribe if you were forwarded this email and want to stay up to date with Gulo in Nature.